Movie Review: Ticket To Paradise
Bob Garver
It's a good thing that Ticket to Heaven came in second at the box office on Halloween weekend, despite the challenges of horror films. It really goes to show just how horrendous horror has been this year, because every Halloween special has not only played a second weekend of the undisputed blockbuster Black Adam, but a second weekend of this innocent romantic comedy. Unfortunately, Ticket to Heaven is no better than a romantic comedy than other horror films.
George Clooney and Julia Roberts play David and Georgia Cotton respectively, Lily's (Caitlin Dever) divorced parents. Lily celebrates her law degree with a trip to Bali, where she falls in love with a local seaweed farmer, Gede (Maxim Boutier). Less than a month later, Lili decided to marry Gede and move permanently to Bali, ending her legal career. David and Georgia fly to Bali ostensibly to get married, but Lily and Ged break up. They both made a big mistake getting married young and they don't want Lily to fall into the same trap. In fact, their marriage was such a disaster (apart from lily production) that they now hate each other and can't stand each other. Since this is a comedy, different situations will be next to each other for almost the entire movie.
David/Georgia's adventures include Paul (Lucas Bravo), a cheeky Georgia pilot friend, a bumpy plane ride, staying in hotel rooms, trying to steal Lily and Ged's wedding ring, swimming with rogue dolphins, collecting seaweed. a beer pong night, back and forth about their feelings for marriage, and of course slowly hinting that they might be made for each other. And they do it all with perfect chemistry. It's not exactly "perfect" as in funny, but Clooney and Roberts are clearly professional actors who know how to play their partners. There is no such equal couple in the real world (a word David loves), even if they are partners for life, and we have to believe that these two hate each other.
Lots of clichés. The best friend with no purpose in history (Billy Lord), the third wheel of a plane (Genevieve Lemmon), David's language and cultural barriers, a night of mixed drinking, the shame of the trauma Paul is holding. They seem desirable, women manage to build fires while men don't hunt, something goes wrong in a marriage, marriage itself is a potential deal breaker, etc. I've heard people say this is a decent hit revitalized rom-coms, and although it's not exactly true (Licorice Pizza), he revived rom-coms, which people cite as an example of why they don't like them. . they are .romantic comedies.
I would say this about Ticket to Heaven, it makes Bali so beautiful. I am confident that this film will be a boon for the island's tourism industry. Filming on location certainly attracted Clooney and Roberts to the project, as it certainly wasn't a silent script. If you're the type of person who sees great scenes as a good reason to watch a movie, this might be a good choice for you. But if you want more than a beautiful island and a star, if you want more than a star showing off its enduring charm, buy a ticket for something else.
Rating: C-
Ticket to Heaven is rated PG-13 for strong language and concise, thought-provoking material. Its running time is 104 minutes.
Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.
