The 2016 film "Passengers", with Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt, is a gruesome study in "because of the implication". JLaw's character wakes on a spaceship to discover that only Pratt's character is alive and has prematurely roused her from her slumber. She has, in effect, been murdered and the only way she can pacify this dangerous man is to sleep with him. It is a grim film.
WHAT IF THAT WERE A ROM-COM!?!?!?!
Anthony Mackie and Zoe Chao are stuck on a spaceship a million miles from Earth. Their communications and navigation systems are broken so they spend their days watching movies, working out, and doing chores. Until - bored and horny - they discuss whether they should break their respective marriage vows and get it on.
It's a delightfully weird mix of When Harry Met Sally and a dozen other movies. Thankfully, there is no hint of coercion on either part. It is touching (fnar), sweet, and rather uplifting. Despite the paucity of romance, it is an excellent comedy. The absurdity of the situation is taken to the extreme in a way you could never do with For All Mankind.
The film is weird though. It's obvious shot on a budget so, rather than go for tacky CGI - the spaceship and planets are made of cardboard. It's very "Dave Made A Maze". The interior shots eschew every sci-fi cliché of gleaming octagonal corridors and go for an IKEA æsthetic. It is jarring and rather odd - but does make more sense as the film progresses. It almost feels like it is designed to be produced in a little off-Broadway theatre.
The plot, in retrospect, makes no sense. The sci-fi is a little cheesy and superfluous. But it is staggeringly good fun.
