Ticket to Paradise

Ticket to Paradise is a completely bog standard romcom. Not a single creative risk was taken in the making of this film. It is all very safe and predictable.

They cast George Clooney and Julia Roberts and knew that that would be enough to get bums on seats, so they phoned in the rest.

The comedy is all tried and tested stuff. The plot follows the traditional romcom formula, meaning you won't find any surprises here.

This doesn't make it a bad film, its just got a pretty uninspired feel to it, as if it was made by a marketing team.

The result is a charming, sweet, but unremarkable film. If you've ever seen a romcom then you've seen Ticket to Paradise, but it does have its moments.

You have to imagine Clooney and Roberts, two people who are good pals in real life, read this script and saw the chance to have a holiday in an exotic location with a buddy, all the while being paid for it. Even when they aren't really trying both are very charismatic, and they aren't really trying here, unfortunately. The film has a promising start, as the bickering between the divorcees is top-notch screwball comedy fare. But once we get to Bali and they unite forces, it all turns dull and formulaic. The young lovers never really seem real and so never appear genuinely under threat, and the attempts to introduce Balinese life and culture is saccharine sweet.

In short, meh.

Following their tempestuous relationship of 19 years (including the recovery), an acrimonious divorced couple travel millions of miles from home, then enter a momentary truce to stop the pending nuptials of their only daughter who just recently graduated from college and got engaged on a whim in Bali. Lazy star vehicle doesn't offer much in the way of surprise or originality, it's also light on laughs and ineffective on drama, thus it's mostly a chance to witness the snap, crackle, and pop repartee of a well-matched Roberts and Clooney. The scenery is good too, making it even more comfortable to sit through. **

If you're going to produce a run of the mill romantic comedy/drama film then you may as well set it in one of the most beautiful places on earth and get some of the biggest names in Hollywood to lead it.

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The location and scenery was stunning, the acting performances were good and although the story itself was by the numbers, it was enjoyable light hearted entertainment with a light moral message.

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It does run for a bit too long and the outtakes were by far the funniest part of the film.

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Overall, I would score this film as a six out of ten.

Ticket to Paradise follows a very familiar formula that has very few surprises in its narrative but that works as a nice reminder as to why this formula works so well when done right, especially in the hands of two perfectly matched screen legends.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts are both great, having worked together many times before their chemistry and comedic timing is instant and extremely strong. Kaitlyn Dever is really good with a warmth makes her sudden relationship feel genuine.

Ol Parker's direction is also really good, the location constantly looks gorgeous and it maintains a solid pace throughout. The music by Lorne Balfe works perfectly for the film's tone, so grand and swoon worthy.