YNOT at the Movies

The award season has arrived, so there are plenty of sad movies rushing to the theaters right now. If you want to take a break from some brainy drama and to have some popcorn and eye candies, the director Ol Parker's goofy romantic comedy "Ticket to Paradise" (USA/UK 2022 | 104 min.) offers just that. Almost nothing in this film is convincing, but you probably won't care if you come to this film to escape reality and to watch good-looking people roam around spectacular beaches of the Pacific Ocean.

The film's poster gives us an impression that the two protagonists are a good looking couple in a loving relationship. Well, that was the case 25 years ago when David (George Clooney) and Georgia (Julia Roberts) were fresh out of college. But their marriage only lasted for five years. Now they resent each other, though interestingly they cannot stop talking about each other to their friends.

Now it's their daughter Lily's (Kaitlyn Dever) turn to graduate from college. David and Georgia are conveniently arranged to sit next to each other at the graduation ceremony and begin to act like school kids to show who is prouder of Lily. To celebrate the graduation before attending law school, Lily heads out to Bali in Indonesia (the actual filming location is Australia) to take a vacation with her best friend Wren (Billie Lourd).

Right after Lily arrives in Bali, she meets a gorgeous local seaweed farmer Gede (Maxime Bouttier) and madly falls in love right away. She immediately summons her cannot-stand-each-other parents to the tranquil beach in Bali for her wedding.

Conveniently, David and Georgia are flying next to each other on a plane that is flown by Georgia's eager-to-please pilot boyfriend Paul (Lucas Bravo). Also conveniently, their hotel rooms are next to each other in a luxury resort with a swimming pool in the room. They are determined to sabotage Lily's lightning speed marriage which they see resembling their own marriage 25 years ago. You don't have to think hard to predict if they can succeed and if they are going to be a couple again.

The two likable Hollywood A-list actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts obviously are having a great time on the beach soaking in the warm and clear ocean water. Julia Roberts's infectious laughs and George Clooney's silly dance moves are simply irresistible. Obviously, the director Ol Parker made this movie for the audience who enjoy seeing them in a very long commercial for a tourist destination. He doesn't even try to make any part of the story believable.

Despite living on a remote island in Indonesia, the incredibly handsome Gede speaks perfect and eloquent English with a charming smile. No wonder Lily is so sure about marrying him after sleeping in his bed on the first day they met. Who wouldn't want to be with him in a paradise-like location?

If you are dreaming about a vacation before the holiday seasons, this movie provides a prolonged trailer of a vacation package, just don't read the fine print that your actual experience might differ if you do go, and that you may not find a Gede to settle down with there either.

"Ticket to Paradise" opens on Friday, October 21, 2022.