Rachael Leigh Cook, Scott Ly celebrate travel, Vietnam and more in 'A Tourist's Guide to Love'
A new romantic comedy is giving audiences wanderlust vibes and reminding others to believe in love.
In "A Tourist's Guide to Love," Rachael Leigh Cook plays Amanda Riley, a travel executive who goes to Vietnam after an unexpected breakup to learn about the country's tourist industry. Along the way, she meets Sinh Thach (played by Scott Ly), her Vietnamese expat tour guide, who helps her discover the magic of Vietnam and all of the beauty the country has to offer.
"The country speaks for itself. We're lucky enough to be able to give it a postcard version," Cook, who is also a producer on the film, shared during an interview with "Good Morning America."
"I thought this was a wonderfully organically diverse story about people from all different cultures, all different walks of life coming together to have a really incredible adventure," she added.
The movie, which arrives to Netflix on Friday, was filmed in several places in Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Hội An and Hà Giang.
The project was also the first international production to film in Vietnam since the global pandemic, according to the streaming service.
"I knew that I wanted to do a movie that celebrated travel," Cook said. "Coming out of COVID, we haven't had as much community and a sort of global perspective. So this really felt like a good fit."
Many who worked on the film shared a personal connection to it, including Ly.
The actor, whose family fled their home in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, said that working on "A Tourist's Guide to Love" was a meaningful experience for him due to his familial connections.
"For it to be this first project that I get to really kind of sink my teeth into, play the lead role and have so much on my shoulders -- for it to be in Vietnam, from where my parents came from -- for it to be something that I could really just relate so well to, it was the perfect fairytale story," he said.
"I got emotional too," he added. "My mom is always like, 'Hey honey, I teach you how to be a good person. You go out there and you experience life, and you go and do whatever you want to do.' So she knows she brought me to this country."
"My mom's a great supporter," he added.
Screenwriter Eirene Tran Donohue took inspiration from her own life when she was unexpectedly dumped by her boyfriend before her own trip to Vietnam, Cook shared. At an event, Donahue called the film her "love letter to Vietnam," according to Netflix.
"There are almost no American movies set in Vietnam that aren't about the trauma of war," she told Tudum. "It was really important to me to tell a story about life now -- one that was full of joy and love and celebration. I wanted to change the conversation about Vietnam, to highlight it as a modern, thriving country whose stories are worthy of being told."
With the film's themes of adventure, love and travel, Cook also said she hopes it inspires interest in exploring Vietnam -- and she hopes the film inspires audiences to "believe in love if their belief had waned."
Ly added that he hopes the film will inspire others to overcome their fears.
"I want them to know that any challenges or kind of fears they have, you can overcome them," he said. "You just got to find the right people. ... The opportunities [are] always there. You gotta take that leap, that's always the hardest step."
"When you take that first step, the next stuff is easier and easier and then you pull people in and you become like a magnet," he added. "Then, positive energy will come at you and like for me, I did that step and then Rachel came into my life and this project came into my life and then these other things came into my life."
