(2022) Ticket to Paradise - A Pleasing Rom-Com Movie that would Delight Fans of Julia Roberts and George Clooney

After playing in theaters for weeks, finally my wife and I got the chance to see this movie last night. We have been planning to see it even from the first weekend of release but due to so many things, we were unable to do it. Yesterday there was actually a new movie released in theater. However as it was a horror movie which seemed very bad, we decided to see this one instead. OK, I'll get right on it.

Brief Story Line

David Cotton (George Clooney - The Midnight Sky, Michael Clayton etc) and his ex wife Georgia (Julia Roberts - Eat Pray Love, Erin Brokovich etc) had been divorced for 20 years and always fought whenever they met, but they had a daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever - Last Man Standing TV series, Dear Evan Hansen etc) who they loved very much. When Lily graduated from law school, she decided to go to Bali for summer vacation with her best friend Wren (Billie Lourd - American Horror Stories series etc) before starting work at a major law firm in the US.

During her holiday there, Lily met with a local man named Gede (Maxime Bouttier - Matt & Mou, Serendipity etc) and they seemed to hit it off so well that after a month, they decided to get married and stay in Bali. So David and Georgia had to settle their differences and work together to make sure Lily did not make what they believed to be the biggest mistake in her life. Things got a bit complicated when Georgia's boyfriend Paul (Lucas Bravo - Emily in Paris TV series etc) also appeared. 

And how would the story conclude? You can find out in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

My wife and I had come across plenty of memorable romantic comedies movies in the past (I think most were in the 1990s and early 2000). And it is pretty sad that this genre had not been too successful due to lack of good quality rom-com movies. We even heard that some younger generation do not know this type of genre (though maybe this is a bit exaggerated). 

Anyway, this movie starred one of the most famous leading woman in romantic comedy movies Julia Roberts with her various hits like Pretty Woman, Notting Hill, My Best Friend's Wedding and Runaway Bride which made her a great choice for this role. Meanwhile George Clooney despite not having major rom-com movies in his portfolio, is still very popular (I remember he was adored by female fans when he was playing in that great series E.R). The main attraction in this movie was definitely their stardom and both of us really loved their chemistry. It was so fun and pleasing watching them banter it out at each other throughout the whole movie (credit to be given to the writers for making such intelligent dialogues that would make us laugh out loud).

Meanwhile the young couple Lily and Gede were decent enough, although I still think Roberts and Clooney's chemistry was way better. With Bali as the setting (even if the movie was not made in Bali due to what I understood as logistic issues because of covid-19), obviously it would be more convincing and nicer if Balinese were also part of the cast. However, I am not sure whether that was the case, but at least Maxime Bouttier is an Indonesian-French and there were few Indonesians in minor roles such as Cintya Dharmayanti as Gede's sister Losi, Agung Pindha as Wayan and few others. And to add more comedic feel, there was the character Paul who was convincing enough as Georgia's boyfriend and provided some comical moments. 

The story itself was pretty straight forward. There was no surprises and even the ending could have been guessed by us. However the journey was worth the while. It was really pleasant seeing this movie and my wife and I were happy after the film finished. For me personally though, I was hoping the ending would be done a bit differently, but then again it might not be what the writers think was best. Btw, it was written by Daniel Pipski and Ol Parker who also served as the director. His previous works including directing Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and writer of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel. 

Overall this was a movie that was fun and enjoyable. Those who knew Julia Roberts and George Clooney from their early days would be delighted to see their performance here. Looking at the beautiful sceneries would also please the audience, especially those beach lovers. And I think the addition of young Indonesian actor, made the film quite popular that even after after a month, there were still few theaters showing the movie. So if you are fans of rom-com genre and just want to have a good time, then this movie would be a nice choice. 

Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars