“Ticket to Paradise”
Big stars, hardly any depth
Julia Roberts and George Clooney play an ex-couple who doesn’t like to see each other in “Ticket to Paradise.”
©Universal Studios
In “Ticket to Paradise” George Clooney and Julia Roberts try to stop their daughter from getting married. Will they succeed?
A successful wedding requires three things: the right place, the right time and the right circumstances. The aspiring lawyer Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) already has two in “Ticket to Paradise” (in cinemas from September 15): After graduating from university, a new phase of life is just beginning and she has fallen in love with an attractive local in Bali. Only one thing is missing – the consent of her parents.
But father David (George Clooney) and mother Georgia (Julia Roberts) are not happy with their daughter’s plans. After all, they know from their own history what a failed marriage looks like. And so the detesting ex-couple gets on the plane to Bali together to keep their daughter from saying yes in haste.
Roberts and Clooney reunited on camera
Megastars George Clooney and Julia Roberts meet again in “Ticket to Paradise” 21 years after their first film together “Ocean’s Eleven” – for Roberts it is her first rom-com role in many years. Director Ol Parker, who has already staged the cinema hit “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”, takes the two to the Balinese paradise. The film veterans are kept company by young stars Kaitlyn Dever as daughter Lily, “Emily in Paris” heartthrob Lucas Bravo as Georgia’s partner and Billie Lourd as Lily’s best friend.
Intriguing plans in the Balinese paradise – that’s what it’s all about
After graduating from college, Lily and Wren travel to Bali to enjoy their new found freedom. It doesn’t take long for the charming local Gede (Maxime Bouttier) to bail them out – for Lily it’s love at first sight.
Five weeks later, her quarreling parents received an email inviting her to the wedding – a disaster for David and Georgia. The two pull themselves together and get on the next plane to Bali. An intriguing plan is supposed to help keep the daughter from falling in love: stolen rings, a visit to a monastery filled with pitch and a missing boat. With supposed success – until they realize that they might be on the wrong path themselves.
Conclusion
Rom-com experts should be able to guess the end of the film just by looking at the film poster. Because in fact: The family comedy is predictable, but is good in times like these: beautiful scenery, beautiful people, beautiful traditions – and lots of flat jokes. The cinema ticket does not necessarily lead to paradise, but it offers an entertaining cinema experience without great depth.