Ticket to Paradise

Ticket to Paradise
Starring Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Kaitlyn Dever, Maxime Bouttier
Directed by Ol Parker

The 90s was the decade for the romantic comedy subgenre, with films like "She's All That," "10 Things I Hate About You," and "While You Were Sleeping" dotting the cinematic landscape, allowing people who still believed in true love to enjoy their passion being portrayed on the big screen. During that time you hardly went a year without a rom-com featuring the likes of Julia Roberts ("Notting Hill," "Runaway Bride," "My Best Friend's Wedding," etc.)  but George Clooney didn't have the same flair for the romantic. Still, the two veteran actors became best friends and have appeared in several movies together ("Ocean's Eleven" and "Ocean's Twelve," where they play a divorced couple, along with "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and "Money Monster"), and their rapport is the stuff of cinematic legend. So when the 2020s needed a much-needed rom-com shot in the arm (since the majority of them have been relegated to streaming), there's no better duo than Roberts and Clooney to bring back that classic 90s magic, and if you want to re-visit those good ole days, you'll happily pay for a "Ticket to Paradise."

Estranged couple David (George Clooney) and Georgia (Julia Roberts) Cotton are celebrating their only daughter Lily's (Kaitlyn Dever) graduation before she goes to Bali with her best friend Wren (Billie Lourd). Despite hating one another, they share a love for their daughter - but that's where the similarities end. While in Bali Lily meets seaweed farmer Gede (Maxime Bouttier), and thirty days later informs her parents that they're getting married. David and Georgia head to Bali for the wedding, but both don't want her to get married, because they feel it's too soon, and both are still hurting from their failed marriage. They form a truce in order to break up the couple for their own good, and sets out to achieve their goal - but as they do, they begin to doubt what they're doing is right, as well as reminding one another why they fell in love in the first place.

Cinema in the 2020s have been defined by superhero movies and sequels, with barely any room for romantic comedies, which have basically been left in the hands of Netflix, Hulu, and other home streaming services. "Ticket to Paradise" is, oddly enough, a risk taken by theaters to show it in their hallowed halls, because the market has been tanking since the pandemic - they want more butts in the seats, and nothing sells more than brand recognition or superhero films. Yet "Ticket to Paradise" proved that there's still a need and desire to see rom-coms on the big screen, earning a very respectable $20 million in its first week of being released, proving not just the staying power of its iconic actors, but a want by audiences to go to a movie and be able to laugh and feel the love once again.

There's nothing new in regards to "Ticket to Paradise" that hasn't been seen in the plethora of other rom-coms, but people don't go into these films expecting Shyamalan-style twists: they want the good ole fashioned feels, and this film delivers. George Clooney and Julia Roberts have this natural chemistry with one another that's been developed over the years, and their real-life friendship really allows them to work so well off one another it almost comes naturally. You feel their child-like banter and expect to see that in their real lives as well, so their good-natured jabs and sarcastic comments come across more as endearing than enraging, and you know that there's some deep-seeded feelings between the two still, even if they don't want to admit it publicly.

The film focuses on their tumultuous relationship and how they band together to prevent their daughter from making the same mistake they did, sort of like "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" truce, even though there's no real "enemy" in the film. They set out to sabotage the wedding in hilarious ways that are, again, akin to the classics, and like fine wine it doesn't age poorly. Unlike other films, this isn't mean-spirited, but done with a sincere love for their daughter even though their thoughts are misguided by past trauma, so it's easy to root for everyone.

Yet by focusing on Clooney and Roberts, the real story gets a bit diluted, as there's no real sparks or chemistry between Kaitlyn Dever's Lily and Maxime Bouttier's Gede, which is shown all the more glaring when they're pitted against the movie juggernauts. From the viewer's perspective, they meet and decide to get married right away, even though in the film it's been over thirty days, because the main focus isn't them, but rather the sexual tension and frienemy duo of David and Georgia. This is to the film's detriment because it could've focused on both, but it's still a small gripe compared to seeing the greats battle it out on screen.

The Score: A