Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PARADISE — It's Halloween time, which means it's time for movies, spooky tales, heart-stopping jump scares, creepy characters and a Julia Roberts and George Clooney rom-com.
Yes, "Ticket to Paradise" seems out of place as a late October release but it's here anyway, and guess what? It's not half bad. The trailers for the film made it feel like a cheap made-for-TV movie that just so happened to have two of Hollywood's biggest stars. While the film isn't perfect, it's much better than I expected.
Here are some reasons why "Ticket to Paradise" works and others why it doesn't.
Buy your boarding pass
Clooney and Roberts
The heart and soul of this movie are Clooney and Roberts. This is not the first time these two have shared the screen; this movie is a reminder of why. Their chemistry is palpable and keeps the audience engaged.
Clooney's humor, Roberts's laugh, and the banter between them will charm your socks off. It's inevitable. They are both having a great time, resulting in a payoff for us as the audience. I am not saying this is either actor's best performance, but they work well together and I had fun watching these two play off each other.
It's a feel-good movie
While there is plenty of bad blood and insults between characters, "Ticket to Paradise" is a feel-good movie. It's a film that lets you shut your brain off for a couple of hours, get a laugh, feel the sentiment and feel a little better about the world when you walk out.
There is plenty of depressing and shoot-'em-up cinema out there — it's refreshing to get something to make you smile and feel happy, and restore some faith in humanity.
Book another trip
Lack of chemistry
While Clooney and Roberts exude chemistry, I can't say the same for the rest of the cast. Not that the other actors didn't do a good job, but I didn't always buy the other relationships.
Kaitlyn Dever and Billie Lourd are supposed to be best friends, as close as sisters, but I never really bought it. They were fine together, and Lourd gets some good laughs, but I never bought into their "close" friendship.
The entire movie is based around a rushed wedding of Dever and Maxime Bouttier after the two characters have known each other only a few weeks. This should be the most substantial relationship in the movie. These two are supposed to be so madly in love that they are ready to spend the rest of their lives together after only just meeting. I guess all of the chemistry was sucked up by Clooney and Roberts because there was apparently nothing left for Dever and Bouttier.
I was never interested or invested in their relationship, making it hard to stay engaged. It was hard to get on board with the marriage — it felt like just as bad of an idea to the audience as it did to the estranged parents who tried to break it up.
Should I buy a ticket?
If you love rom-coms or are married to a rom-com junkie, then I say yes, buy a ticket. If horror and scares are your things right now, I'd say wait. I thought "Ticket to Paradise" was a fun diversion from all the Halloween shenanigans. Don't get me wrong, I love Halloween time and all the movies that come with it, but it's nice to step out of that world from time to time.
Clooney and Roberts keep the film afloat and make it a pleasant enough trip to paradise that just may be worth taking.
"Ticket to Paradise" is officially rated PG-13 for some strong language and brief suggestive material.
