“A Perfect Pairing” has already topped the global charts on Netflix, but co-lead actor Adam Demos believes the film could do more than just capture eyeballs.
Speaking to Variety Australia, the Australian star who plays Max, said the US-Australian co-production “feels to me like it’s a tourism ad for Australia”.
“I mean I think it’s charming, and I think [international audiences] are going to look at the backdrop and everyone in there is [a] character, and they’re probably going to book themselves a flight, I reckon,” he said.
“And then you pair the wine and the love story in there [and] I reckon we might get a few more tourists for sure.”
Victoria Justice, the American actor playing Lola, said she loved being in Australia for the shoot.
“We did the two-week quarantine in Sydney, but once we got out of that and flew over to the Gold Coast, things were a bit more open there, which was nice,” she said.
“I love Australia. I think the people are so lovely. I think it’s such a beautiful place. I love being on the Gold Coast, being by the water, and it was just an amazing experience.”
Aside from its potential as a marketing tool for Australia, Justice said the primary purpose of the film was to make viewers feel good.
“I hope people watch it,” she told Variety Australia, before the film went to No. 1 on Netflix. “And I hope people like it… It really is a feel-good movie, I think, and I just hope that… it makes people smile and it makes people happy and maybe want to fall in love if they’re not in love, or take risks and follow – it sounds so cheesy – but follow their dreams.
“My character, Lola, is really such a go-getter and follows her gut and trusts her intuition and believes in herself, and I think that those qualities are crucial to living the life of your dreams. So if that can inspire people in any way, like it certainly inspired me, then I think that would be awesome. And I think it’s just a nice escape, it’s something, it’s shot so beautifully in Australia, it’s so beautiful.
“And so I hope all those things just make people feel good.”
The film charts Lola, an ambitious LA wine company executive, who risks it all and travels to an Australian sheep station to land a major client. The ‘fish-out-of-water’ tale sees the city-slicker working on the Australian farm and dealing with the locals – both human and otherwise – as she works out what she really wants from life and love.
Given it’s set in regional Australia, and targeted at a global tourist market, it does contain multiple Australian cliches and truisms, however Demos doesn’t believe this will give local audiences “the ick” or turn them off.
Quite the contrary, he said, he thinks they will lean into the laughter.
“It’s hard to say how I want them to [feel], because whatever they take away is fine. I’m sure they’ll be proud of how we’ve depicted Australia, and I’m sure there’s a lot of nice little inside jokes for them and they can have a laugh,” he said.
“It will be cool to see Lola the character come in and be confused by our little sayings and our way of life. So I think everyone, but probably Aussies in particular, will have a nice laugh about it too, but then be so proud of what we’ve shown off.”
Plus, he said, audiences might enjoy a slightly more subdued version of him, after his viral stint in Netflix’s “Sex/Life”.
“I’ll show them a more PG side than what I recently did,” he laughed. “And yea it’s just nice to be in a film that shows off your beautiful country and also a film that at the end of the day is just going to make people feel good, you know?
“It’s not that the other one [“Sex/Life”] didn’t, it’s just that this is one for the whole family. One where it warms the heart and gives you some nice inspiration, and yea it’s cool.
“The goal, and I think we achieved that, is just to feel great after it. And that’s what these movies do. They have a really special place in the world. So I’m definitely proud to be a part of it.”
“A Perfect Pairing” was supported by the Queensland Government via Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy, with the Government body saying production injected an estimated $8 million into the local economy and supported around 120 jobs.
It filmed in locations including Numinbah Valley School of Arts Community Hall, Gold Coast Botanic Gardens, Sirromet Wines on the Gold Coast and Nixon Creek.
The state’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, again spruiked the state’s production credentials.
“This project is a strong example of how my government’s Production Attraction Strategy benefits the local screen sector via existing production companies – in this case, Hoodlum Entertainment. We look forward to seeing Queensland’s beautiful Gold Coast hinterland in “A Perfect Pairing”, streaming to audiences across the globe,” she said.
Screen Queensland’s CEO, Kylie Munnich, agreed.
“Securing Netflix’s latest feature film is a testament to our state’s ability to attract high-profile screen talent and provide ongoing employment opportunities for local talent,” she said.