It’s been a long time since I was in an actual movie theater. I’d forgotten that meant I’d miss some dialogue that got covered over by laughter. I’ve been spoiled by being able to watch movies in the small audience of just myself or my family members – especially when you can rewind to hear what you missed. So, although I missed bits and pieces of Ticket to Paradise, the new movie starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney (I’ll get those lines when it goes to streaming!), due to lots of audience laughter, the bonus was Julia, George, and some amazing scenery on the big screen. But was that enough?
George and Julia play briefly-married, long-divorced parents (David and Georgia) of a daughter, Lily, who has just graduated from college and is about to begin life as a lawyer in Chicago – immediately after a girlfriends’ getaway to Bali. I’m not giving anything away (thanks, trailers that tell too much) to say that Lily falls head over heels (and seaweed) with a local fellow and they plan to marry. Mom and Dad aren’t keen on this sudden life plan change and put their many differences aside to put a stop to the wedding and bring their daughter back to the U.S. and her senses.
What led to the parents’ bad breakup is set up in an unusual way in the first, immediate scenes with a his take/her take. The more nuanced details of their story unfold throughout the movie. Clooney does a great job of slowly revealing the pain that’s at the core of his loathing of his ex. This is mostly seen through lots of effective facial expressions and few words. The man has a very expressive face! Roberts, on the other hand, keeps her poker face and heart to herself longer before letting the truth come out. The disdain between the pair is believable while also adding to the overall chemistry between them, which remains strong but morphs throughout the film.
Perhaps the best interactions are between Lily (of Hulu’s Rosaline) and her parents, individually. Outside of the scripted dialogue, there appears to be genuine affection and sweet side comments that, from this parent’s perspective, comes from both Clooney and Roberts actually being parents – those tender little gestures and words that come naturally. It was nice to see and believable.
The scenery in Ticket to Paradise is stunning and is, itself, a character in the movie – I’m sure bookings to Bali will go WAY up with this movie! Fans of Julia Roberts will note that she has been to Bali before, in Eat, Pray, Love. And they’ll note that there is a recurrent theme for her in this place of being afraid of losing her sense of self to a relationship.
Through most of the movie, Roberts’ character, Georgia, is in a relationship with Paul (Lucas Bravo), who plays Chef Gabriel on Emily in Paris. In Ticket to Paradise, he plays a hapless, hopelessly in love pilot, bending over backwards to be everything Georgia needs. His character is cloying, and I wanted to yell “grow a spine, man!” But it’s still lovely to see dreamy Bravo and hear his French accent.
The relationship between Lily and Gede, played by Maxime Bouttier, is the catalyst for everything that happens between parents Georgia and David and is fairly well-portrayed. Do we believe they fall in love at first site? Maybe. Are we made to feel a little better about the rashness of their decision to marry when we see how close-knit and supportive Gede’s family is and how successful their seaweed farming business is (letting us know Lily will be just fine)? Mmm, okay.
Be prepared for some really funny moments, goofy animal encounters, contrived silliness, and lots of lingering looks off into the distance.
The movie is trite in places and manages to just avoid being totally predictable with some last-minute veering. Basically, it’s a pleasant romp with beautiful people and places, and a nice storyline. And if you love Julia Roberts and George Clooney, paradise is a nice place to spend some time with them.
Ticket to Paradise opens Oct. 21, 2022. Visit the official website for more information and for trailers.
-By Courtney Drake-McDonough, InGoodTasteDenver.com managing editor
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