A bit disappointed as I watched a familiar story with actors who don’t even need a script to do a movie like this.

Ticket To Paradise
Stars: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Kaitlyn Dever, Billie Lourd, Maxima Bouttier and Lucas Bravo
Director: Ol Parker
Scriptwriters: Ol Parker and Daniel Pipski
Composer: Lorne Balfe
Cinematographer: Ole Bratt Birkeland
Working Title Films/Smokehouse Pictures/ Universal Pictures
Rating: PG 13 and themed material
Running Length: 104 Minutes 

There have been numerous films with the title “Ticket To Paradise” and here is the list:

1936    Ticket to Paradise directed by Aubrey Scotto
1961    Ticket to Paradise directed by Francis Searle
2008    Ticket to Paradise directed by Janus Metz
2001    ticket to Paradise directed by Geraldo Chijano 

and yet, here comes another film.. Director Ol Parker and co-scriptwriter Daniel Pipski give the audience an engagement  that divorced parents of the bride don’t want to happen. Such is the plot. Use your imagination. This “Ticket to Paradise” has George Clooney (“The Midnight Sky”) as the divorced father from wife Julia Roberts (“Gaslight.”)   Daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever from “Dopesick”) is the person to divert from marriage and all set in Bali, or areas in the vicinity. So, will the plotting of the parents succeed?  

The film begins with girls on vacation in Bali and find themselves stranded.  Along comes a handsome guy, Gede (Maxime Bouttier from “1993.”) and in less than 50 days, Lily announces that she and Gede will be married in a traditional ceremony there. Dad David (Clooney) telephones his ex-wife Georgia (Roberts) who has a boyfriend of her own, an airline pilot no less, played by Lucas Bravo as Paul.  David and Georgia decide to fly to Bali and try to sabotage the wedding. Their daughter is too young for marriage and they don’t want her to have an unhappy divorce such as theirs was. Lily does have a girlfriend there, Wren (Billie Lourd from “American Horror Story.”) Every time David and Georgia dream up something it goes awry. Humor here and with clever repartee between actors. However, the trailers give the film away.  

What comes through in this film is that two people married young and immediately, there was a pregnancy, then a few years of marriage to which neither adjusted, and eventually a divorce. Doesn’t this sound as though any family you knew who had the same occurrence?  In today’s world, there are counselors available before and after engagement/marriage. The audience begins to see that Roberts character was surprised at an early pregnancy and no time for her own place in the world. Clooney, on the other hand, was always busy, away from home, and distance does not make a marriage work, especially when the married people are young. So, to halt their daughter’s sudden marriage is of prime importance. Not only that, but the daughter is marrying into another culture, who are nervous about the situation, too. 

If you are a Julia Roberts fan you will enjoy her enormous laughter, smile and appearance, even though in scenes where everyone else is frumbled, she is immaculate.  George Clooney fans will go with his large smile and facial expressions, plus he has the falls and can do this type of comedy well.  The surprise is Billie Lourd, who is the late Carrie Fisher’s daughter. Billie shines in her scenes as the friend Lily, played by Kaitlyn Dever in a sparkling performance 

All in all, I was a bit disappointed as I watched a familiar story with actors who don’t even need a script to do a movie like this, and all the Bali scenes serve as tourist attractions. 

 

Copyright 2022 Marie Asner