Who’s ready to fall “inn” love?
Netflix certainly is! And it’s hoping its 150 million global subscribers are, too. Yesterday, the streaming service released the trailer for its latest romantic comedy, the exquisitely titled Falling Inn Love. The film, which will be released on Netflix later this month, follows an executive who wins a New Zealand inn in a contest (called, naturally, “Win an Inn”) and tries to remodel it “with the help from a handsome contractor.”
If you’ve seen the film’s official poster, you probably could have guessed as much:
A man and a woman, from very different walks of life, brought together by the unknowable sorcery of a dilapidated rustic inn. Will they fall for each other? Or will they each, independently, fall for the inn, creating a violent power struggle over control of the mystical rural dwelling’s matchmaking abilities? (We’d much rather see that movie.) Log onto Netflix on Aug. 29 to find out.
Falling Inn Love joins a long list of Netflix originals with excruciatingly generic titles. Here are some highlights:
- Family Reunion (a TV show about a family reunion)
- Money Heist (a TV show about a heist)
- Coin Heist (a film about a heist, but with coins)
- Lust Stories (an Indian anthology film comprised of stories involving lust)
- When We First Met (a rom-com about people meeting, ostensibly)
- Happy Anniversary (a rom-com about an anniversary)
- The After Party (a film about a party that follows after another party)
- The Holiday Calendar (a holiday movie about a holiday calendar)
- The Christmas Chronicles (a film that chronicles Christmas)
- The Princess Switch (a film about princesses who switch)
- The Perfect Date (a rom-com about an imperfect date—just kidding, just seeing if you’re still paying attention, of course the date is perfect)
- The Last Summer (a rom-com that appears to portend the apocalypse?)
- Murder Mystery (a murder mystery)
- Marriage Story (an upcoming dramedy from Noah Baumbach that will in all likelihood be good, but that will not change the fact that its title is algorithmically created schlock)
These titles are very likely generic on purpose. Users browsing the Netflix interface know exactly what Murder Mystery is without having to look it up themselves, or even so much as deign to hover over the thumbnail for more information.
Money Heist leaves no room for doubt about its plot (there’s money, you see, and people want to heist it). The Christmas Chronicles is decidedly not about Hanukkah or Diwali (though perhaps those will be future installments in Netflix’s “Holiday Chronicles” cinematic universe, if the algorithm deems it necessary). The Perfect Date is perfectly nothing. (A few of the titles, like Money Heist, are bad translations from the film’s original language.)
Universality is Netflix’s brand, and to this point it’s worked well. It doesn’t want to be known for any one specific tone or genre, but rather all of them. It wants to be your one-stop shop for films and TV shows, and its super-generic titles let users know exactly the kinds of things you can enjoy on the service. In the mood for a heist movie? Look no further. Want one of dozens of romantic comedies? Netflix has you covered. Have a hankering for a (*throws a dart at a board*) murder mystery starring (*throws another dart*) Adam Sandler and (*throws one last dart*) Jennifer Aniston? Why don’t you check out Netflix’s Murder Mystery?