TICKET TO PARADISE

Based purely on the trailer I went into Ticket to Paradise with fairly low expectations. It looked like the kind of film advertised primarily on the side of buses, which makes little cultural impact and vanishes almost as quickly as it arrives.

Acrimonious divorcees David (George Clooney) and Georgia (Julia Roberts) are pulled back together when daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) announces she is to get married to her holiday romance Gede (Maxime Bouttier). On arrival in Bali they decide to put aside their differences as they plot to put a stop to the wedding.

A tale as old as time. Or, at least, as old as Hollywood.

It is a plot so run of the mill that its success relies solely on the chemistry between the leads. And boy, are we in luck.

Clooney and Roberts have shown in the past that they have an easy chemistry, and they slip right back into that here. Every interaction between them is gold, and the sexual tensions bubbles barely below the surface, even in the moments of genuine frustration and anger.

The two of them transform this collection of well-worn rom-com tropes into an absolute joy to watch. Queensland, Australia - standing in for Bali - is as picturesque as any film setting you’ll see this year, and Ole Bratt Birkeland’s cinematography really makes the most of it.

The appeal of watching beautiful people, in beautiful locales, may be shallow, but in the drudgery of British autumn, as the nights, and the rain clouds, begin to draw in, it is a welcome distraction.

Kaitlyn Dever, who was so great in 2019’s Booksmart, does well with what she’s given, but this is Clooney and Roberts’ story. It would have been nice to see her get more of a chance to demonstrate her comic chops, but she is given the job of the straight woman. The adult of the story, when compared to her childish parents.

The strength of these performances mean that that we, as an audience, do come to care about these characters, and while there is little doubt as to where the plot is taking us, I did find myself emotionally invested in their lives. As the familiar beats play out Ticket to Paradise still manages to pull on the heartstrings.

It is very much a film un Ol Parker, who has created a directorial niche for himself in schmaltzy, heartfelt  rom-coms 

Ticket to Paradise is not a game changer. It is not going to offer many surprises to fans of the genre.

What it is, however, is effortlessly charming. It is both romantic and funny. And it is - and I am as surprised as anyone to be writing this - one of my favourite films of the year so far.

It is not perfect, not even close, but in the difficult times we are currently in Ticket to Paradise offers the right circumstance, the right place (and people), and the right time