Ticket to Paradise review: George Clooney and Julia Roberts bring back the 90s rom-com charm with their usual tropes

3/5

Story:

On the big screen, George Clooney and Julia Roberts reconnect as ex-couples who are on a joint quest to prevent their infatuated daughter from making the same error they did. The romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise is about the delightful surprise of second chances.

Review:

We have seen Julia Roberts sabotage a wedding way before in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) and, sadly, she did not succeed in it. Now, 25 years later, her tyranny continues, and this time she is on a mission to sabotage her daughter's wedding. Joining the actor is George Clooney, and together they play divorcees who can't stand each other even for a second. It's interesting to see that their love story kind of started in 1997, and they separated five years into their marriage.

The story starts with the ex-couple, David Cotton (Clooney) and Georgia Cotton (Roberts), attending their daughter Lily Cotton's (Kaitlyn Dever) graduation. Even at the ceremony, they bring out their competitive spirit over who loves their daughter more. It was kind of a delight to see this talented duo bringing out their wacky side for a rom-com, which has been a miss for quite some time on screen now.

In no time, after going their separate ways, we see them come back together, knowing about their daughter's impromptu decision to tie the knot. All hell breaks loose when their daughter meets an Indonesian guy named Gede (Maxime Bouttier) in Bali and decides to get married to him. She decides to not pursue the law anymore after graduation. While talking about her decision, we are constantly reminded that the scenic beauty where she is planning to settle in is the best place on Earth. They also show a few shots, which are breathtaking, indeed.

Let's talk about the story. Ticket to Paradise brings the usual rom-com tropes back, and it can be called a new wine in an old bottle. However, there's a freshness to the old-world charm that Clooney and Roberts bring to the film. It has all the elements of a "sabotage" premise, like planning and plotting, taking the Trojan Horse setup, the rivalry between a father and his daughter's beau (cue, Father of the Bride), everything.

Done and dusted!

But you might find it colourful if you go by the genre of movies that have been released in the past few months. Sometimes, a movie like Ticket to Paradise is needed for a detox from the heavy content that's being consumed.

Director Ol Parker, who has co-written the film with Daniel Pipski, brings no surprises to the screenplay. But it's the performances, or rather the presence of Clooney and Roberts, that uplift the film as it should be.

Parker, who earlier helmed Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), brings quite a similar plot when it comes to a familial plot. However, here, although we have a couple who have been divorced for two decades, there's some underlying electrical chemistry between them after all these years. It could have been explored more, but we are left wanting more instead.

Hands down, Clooney and Roberts are the highlights of the film. Their sequences together are a visual treat, and they do behave like two peas in a pod. However, Dever, who is supposedly the catalyst of the story, brings little to the table despite a potential role. She is just a mere supporting character, who keeps on adding little fuel to the fire every now and then for the story to move forward.

Every sequence that doesn't include the senior actors will make you impatient for them as they make the film go and look charming.

The film also features Billie Lourd as Wren Butler, which marks her reunion with Booksmart co-star Dever. She is one light-hearted beauty who brings the fun element of a girl who is literally on vacation and doesn't care about anything around her. On the other hand, Lucas Bravo of Emily in Paris fame plays Paul, Georgia's pilot boyfriend. Well, there's nothing smart we can expect from him and he has been wasted in this film. But who will lose a chance to romance Julia Roberts, eh?

Although Ticket to Paradise is set in Bali, the whole film has been shot in Australia, and it's a beautiful virtual tour. Ole Bratt Birkeland's cinematography captures some beautiful locations, but it won't do justice to what the places will look like in reality.

Even the less engaging parts of Ticket to Paradise are watchable because of Clooney and Roberts' charisma.

Verdict:

With Ticket to Paradise, we return to a genre that is nowadays all but extinct on the big screen. The George Clooney and Julia Roberts starrer is an inviting and funny getaway from reality.