A One Mann’s Movies review of “Ticket to Paradise” (2022).
“Ticket to Paradise” was a trailer where The Illustrious Mrs Movie Man (TIMMM) immediately said “I’m in“. A new rom-com, and a George Clooney / Julia Roberts rom-com no less, set on a paradise island. Directed by Ol Parker of “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again” fame. What’s not to love?
My fear was that many of the best bits would be in the trailer. And, to an extent, that’s true. While it’s still a lightweight feel-good film that makes you… well… FEEL GOOD, it really should also have been so much better. So while TIMMM gave it 4*, I will give it a slightly more lukewarm 3.5* (and was tempted to give it less).
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
Ahead of a planned career with a legal firm, Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) and her sex-mad college room-mate Wren (Billie Lourd) head off on a gap-year trip to Bali. Her parents David (George Clooney) and Georgia (Julia Roberts) – long estranged and constantly bickering after a vicious divorce – are shocked when Lily advises them that she is going to turn her back on her career and marry a Balinese boy Gede (Maxime Bouttier). David and Georgia travel to Bali and join forces to try to make sure that never happens.
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Kaitlyn Dever, Billie Lourd, Lucas Bravo.
Directed by: Ol Parker.
Written by: Ol Parker and Daniel Pipski.
Twitter Handles: #TicketToParadise.
“Ticket To Paradise” Review:
Positives:
- Julia Roberts and George Clooney! Together on the big screen again! Wearing glamorous clothes! Just brilliant! They were together, of course, in the first two Ocean films but (unless I’m wrong) they were last together in the half-decent newsroom thriller “Money Monster“. But this rom com is in a different league of glam! And Roberts and Clooney both seem to be having a whale of a time filming this. A scene involving a game of beer pong (but not with beer) is infectiously hilarious. And you wonder how much was acting and how much was genuine drunken revelry!
- The ‘Bali’ locations look awesome. Although, I’ve read that this wasn’t in fact filmed in Bali but around the Whitsunday Island area of Queensland, Australia. (Though I’m sure there are matte background shots included showing the Bali volcano Mount Agung). So, it’s NOT such a great marketing brochure for Bali, but it certainly is one for North Queensland!
Negatives
- It feels like a really lazy script. There are some great situations and a few killer lines, but many of these are spoiled by the trailer. Otherwise it is Clooney and Roberts being Clooney and Roberts. I have to say, they both do it really really well. But EVERYTHING you expect to happen in this script does actually happen! It could have been written by monkeys.
- I LOVE Kaitlyn Dever! In “Booksmart” she shone like a supernova and she was equally brilliant, in a far more dramatic role, in the recent TV Series “Dopesick”. But in this movie she feels like she’s in a non-role: yes, she’s in a lot of scenes, but it felt to me like the script gave her little to do in them other than look sulky.
- Billie Lourd was one of Dever’s co-stars in “Booksmart”, playing the drugged up and rather irritating Gigi. But again, like Dever, she feels like a spare cog in the script’s wheel. It does her few favours and again makes her character a bit irritating. (I thought for one horrible moment that she was going to have sex with Clooney’s character, but fortunately no).
Monkeys?
In terms of “monkeys“, stay for the start of the credits since there are a very funny set of outtakes. The final one of these was snort-worthy and again illustrates the fun relationship between Clooney and Roberts that reflects itself onto the screen.
Summary Thoughts on “Ticket to Paradise”:
It’s not the slam-dunk fun-fest that Ol Parker delivered with “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again“. It’s lazily written and predictable as hell. But as a star vehicle for “my mate” George Clooney (more details to follow at another time!!) and Julia Roberts it delivers mega-watts of charisma. And frankly, given the current political and financial situation in the UK, we could all use a decent bit of escapism. This does at least deliver that. I just wish the script had been better.
“TIcket to Paradise” Trailer:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkP4tVTdsz8 . As I mentioned in my review, the script is so predictable and the good jokes so few and far between that you would do well to avoid watching the trailer if at all possible!
