Why the ‘Australian hunk’ is at the heart of a new boom in romance films

Garry Maddox
By Garry Maddox Sydney Morning Herald

November 13, 2022

A procession of successful single women has been travelling from the United States to Australia lately.

Laura Price, a San Francisco lawyer, went to a tropical island to convince her childhood best friend to inherit a billion-dollar business. On arriving, she found he was now a hunky beach bum who preferred charity work … but might just be a better match than her questionable fiancé back home.

A San Francisco lawyer (Saskia Hampele) connects with a laid-back Australian hunk (Liam McIntyre) in This Little Love of Mine.
A San Francisco lawyer (Saskia Hampele) connects with a laid-back Australian hunk (Liam McIntyre) in This Little Love of Mine. CREDIT:STEVE JAGGI COMPANY

Then there was Caroline Wilson, a New York chef, who went to a coastal town after discovering her late aunt had left her a café. On arrival, she met the hunky cook … who just might be a better match than her dodgy ex-fiancé back home.

And Amelia Hart, a Chicago florist, went to a country town to salvage her little sister’s wedding. But as she spent time planning with the hunky best man, she realised – you guessed it – he just might be a better match than her dubious boyfriend back home.

They are all characters in romantic films that have been shot in Australia recently: Christine Luby’s This Little Love Of Mine, Rosie Lourde’s Romance On The Menu and Rogue Rubin’s Love In Bloom. And they’re part of the latest trend in Australian films: “uplifting, positive, female-driven stories set in idyllic locations”.

The Australian romance film boom

  • Romance on the Menu (2020) – Released on Hallmark in the US, Netflix in the rest of the world
  • This Little Love of Mine (2021) – Released in cinemas, then on Netflix
  • Christmas On The Farm (2021) – Released on Stan*
  • Sit. Stay. Love (2021) – Released in cinemas
  • A Perfect Pairing (2022) – Released on Netflix
  • Mistletoe Ranch (2022) – In cinemas from November 17
  • Love In Bloom (2022) – Releasing in February next year
  • You, Me And The Penguins (2023) – Releasing next year
  • A Royal In Paradise (2023) – In post-production
  • Love By The Glass (2023) – In production

In other words, romances in which career women – often in their thirties and with bad boyfriends – find love with a caring and ruggedly handsome guy. Often a laid-back Australian.https://www.youtube.com/embed/WR21TH-6LfY

Demand surged so much during the pandemic that Brisbane-based producer Steve Jaggi (Rip TideDive Club) has shot eight romantic films in Queensland, including the ones above, since just before COVID-19 closed borders.Advertisement

The best title: Sit. Stay. Love, which is about an American aid worker who, on heading home to snowy Vermont for Christmas, has to save an animal shelter with a handsome vet. It’s also from the popular sub-genre of Christmas romances.

The poster for Mistletoe Ranch: a Christmas romance about a rising photographer (Mercy Cornwall) who heads back to the small American town she grew up in and finds sparks with her ex-fiance (Jordi Webber).
The poster for Mistletoe Ranch: a Christmas romance about a rising photographer (Mercy Cornwall) who heads back to the small American town she grew up in and finds sparks with her ex-fiance (Jordi Webber). CREDIT: STEVE JAGGI COMPANY

Another Brisbane production company, Hoodlum Entertainment, has made two romantic comedies along the same lines: Stuart McDonald’s A Perfect Pairing (a wine expert from Los Angeles heads to rural Australia to land a new client) and Christopher Weekes’ Christmas On The Farm (a successful author heads from New York to an Australian farm to cover up the lie behind her book).

In a way, they are (much) lower-budget versions of the Hollywood romcom, Ticket To Paradise that Julia Roberts and George Clooney shot in Queensland during the pandemic.

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Sometimes, the female stars are Australian or made their name here, including Rhiannon Fish (Home and Away), Tammin Sursok (Home and Away), Georgia Flood (Wentworth) and Mercy Cornwall (Dive Club). But Canadian Cindy Busby (Supernatural) and American Susie Abromeit (Jessica Jones) have both shot two of these films.

The next one off the production line, Mistletoe Ranch, opens in Australian cinemas next week. It centres on a rising twentysomething photographer who heads back to the small American town she grew up in to save Christmas celebrations … and finds a spark with her handsome ex-fiance.

Like Sit. Stay. Love, it was shot in Queensland using snow machines to create a wintry landscape.

Jaggi, a prolific producer of young adult and romance projects, says the demand for romances has exploded in the past two years. “COVID undoubtedly made a huge difference,” he says. “More and more people wanted to watch uplifting content.”

The expansion of streaming services has meant there are also new buyers for these optimistic PG-rated films.

“Before COVID, as an Australian company, you tried to make a film that would work for as broad an audience as possible to make money,” Jaggi says. “Now it’s the reverse: if you want to be successful as a business, you make more and more niche content.”https://www.youtube.com/embed/MFNKHY86oFk

The market includes the American cable channels Hallmark and Lifetime, more sophisticated romances for streaming services led by Netflix, and even more sophisticated versions for cinema release. Largely appealing to an aspirational female audience interested in adventure, Jaggi’s films are set either in Australia, the US or an exotic “generic” location.

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“Escapist destinations tend to work well with the audience,” he says. “What we find works really well is if one of the protagonists is American and one is Australian. The ‘Australian hunk’ is a good formula.”

Jaggi is now planning 10 to 12 more romance films in the next two years. He is considering diversifying into having a thirtysomething man finding love, same-sex couples, and possibly “steamier” storylines.

While none of his films have Screen Australia funding, they are all supported by Screen Queensland – either logistically or through regional grants. And most use the country’s 30 per cent tax incentive (called the producer offset), while giving a break to rising (often female) directors.

“Australia is a huge entertainment exporter,” Jaggi says. And while that has traditionally been family and children’s shows watched by millions around the world, it now includes romances.

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