Diane Lane Going to Pretty Places Movies Part II

Three years ago, on the heels of “Paris Can Wait”, which was 13 long years after “Under the Tuscan Sun”, both starring Diane Lane in a movie where her character goes to a pretty place, this blog imagined a whole series, maybe a whole genre, called Diane Lane Goes to Pretty Places. None of these movies came to pass, of course, though since that time there were another eight Marvel movies. That’s not to say Cancel All Marvel movies. But can’t you invest in one, just one, middlebrow Diane Lane Goes to Pretty Places movie too? How many times have we been told this is going to be the longest, darkest winter of our lives? How glorious would a third Diane Lane Goes to a Pretty Place Movie be right now? Like anything else these days, at least we can dream.

Diane Lane Going to Pretty Places Movies Part II

Diane Lane Goes to Barcelona 

As a career driven project manager who has just finished the project of a lifetime, Diane Lane still feels like something is missing. At the behest of a friend, she lights out to Barcelona for some r&r, only to find herself feeling discombobulated from a lack of control over her situation in a country where she cannot speak the language. Finally, on a tour of the Sagrada Família, confronted by and unable to process the fact that Gaudí’s basilica remains a work in progress, she comes unglued. Luckily her tour guide, a handsome Barceloní (Antonio Banderas), talks her down and takes her out on the town as she gradually falls into the rhythms of the city, opening herself up to new possibilities and letting herself go, learning that life is not a project be completed but an ongoing work of art. 

Diane Lane Goes to Santorini

As a travel agent who, ironically, has never traveled anywhere, Diane Lane is forced to take early retirement as her job becomes obsolete. Bored, lonely and adrift, she becomes the personal assistant to a travel influencer (Vanessa Hudgens), lighting out for the Greek Island of Santorini where the influencer yearns to Instagram the ultimate sunset. Diane Lane, however, takes the influencer under her wing, demonstrating that life is best viewed not through a camera phone but your own eyes. A striking Greek man, meanwhile, who has long rolled his eyes at tourists, makes eyes at Diane Lane, insisting that a Santorini sunset has nothing on a Santorini sunrise, a breathtaking reminder that the sun is not setting on her life, only coming back up once again.

Diane Lane Goes to Maldives

In an attempt to rekindle their marriage, foundering on account of his workaholism, Clive Owen brings his wife of almost 20 years, Diane Lane, to an ornate water villa in the Maldives. Alas, after a romantic first evening, Clive Owen is called away on business, leaving Diane Lane alone, atop the ocean, with only her misery for company. But that night, when a chartered stargazing yacht comically crashes into her villa, Diane Lane finds herself both at odds with and smitten by the roguish, handsome captain who works part-time at the dazzling Sky Bar and shows her how fate is written in the stars. 

Diane Lane Goes to Panama

As a career-driven journalist, Diane Lane hasn’t had a vacation in years. In fact, she’s so devoted to work, that when her apple-faced intern suggests she book a Panama Canal cruise, Diane Lane decides to tag along on a cargo ship traversing the canal for a story instead. More than the ingredients for a story, however, Diane Lane finds an awakening of her soul, setting down her notepad as she is drawn to this motley crew. She teaches the frazzled young second cook to make chocolate soufflé, helps the anxious third mate overcome his fear of water, assists the surprisingly sentimental Chief Engineer in writing love letters to his wife, and, of course, falls in love with the salty Captain who explains that no two trips through the Canal are the same, each one its own journey to self-discovery.

Diane Lane Goes to Switzerland

As a longtime New York judge jaded from passing down courtroom decisions all the livelong day, Diane Lane lights out for the most unobjectionable place she can imagine: Switzerland! Alas, when the mountain town she chooses becomes mired in a controversy over whether a quaint family-run ski chalet will be sold to an avaricious rental company, Diane Lane, falling for the chalet owner’s own, destined to take it over, and his lovable St. Bernard, discovers that, no matter how hard she tries, she cannot remain neutral. Roger Federer stars as himself, improbable owner of the local café who dispenses eye-opening wisdom with every cup of espresso and piece of Swiss chocolate served.