Maggie Collins
Editor, Arts and Entertainment
PC: All Events
George Clooney and Julia Roberts came back after a long break to reunite on the screen as ex-spouses, Georgia and David, in a romantic comedy. Their daughter Lily, played by Kaitlyn Dever, has just graduated from law school and goes on a trip to Bali with her roommate Wren, Billie Lourd, to celebrate.
Troubles bubble up when Lily contacts her parents back home to tell them that she has fallen in love with a man, Gede, that she has known for only a few short months and wants to marry him. Gede found Lily and Wren in the middle of the ocean after their boat accidentally left them stranded. Gede was the hot guy that swoops in to save the day at just the perfect time, so of course Lily fell for him.
However, Georgia and David knew their daughter couldn’t have fallen into true love in such a short amount of time. David had plans for what he wanted Lily to accomplish after graduating college, and he knew this marriage would get in the way of them. Therefore, even though they can’t stand each other, they decide to team up together and fly to Bali to stop Lily from making the same mistake they made 25 years ago.
As expected, there is much tension between David and Gede because he has to do what most dads despise and give his daughter away. In private, David tries to convince Gede not to follow through with the marriage, but Georgia is stuck between wondering if Lily is truly in love or if it is just all a fantasy.
While this movie was a classic unrealistic love story, it did manage to make me laugh more than I was expecting. The bickering between Clooney and Roberts always came at the perfect time to create a funny scene. From getting a seat at the airport to booking a room at the hotel, they managed to run into each other and always had something snarky to say. The best way to describe their relationship is in the lines from the scene where David describes their marriage as “The worst 19 years of my life,” and Georgia responds with “We were only married for five.”
The conflict between Georgia and David made for a perfect mix with the romance that was blossoming between Lily and Gede. While the divorced couple tries to work together to stop their daughter from getting married, they reminisce on the past and start to rekindle feelings.
Clooney and Roberts have played in multiple movies together, giving this movie a sense of nostalgia. The stars still have great individual talent, and their effortless chemistry was a major piece in carrying the movie along. It was evident that both characters had a blast filming the movie and that their laughter was genuine in the scenes.
I would recommend this to anyone who is looking to escape reality for an hour and a half but doesn’t have high expectations for anything spectacular. This is a type of movie that isn’t made much anymore; you mostly only see them around Christmas time in the Hallmark movies.
While the plot was pretty simple to predict, there were multiple scenes that helped to make the movie more entertaining than just another romance. It’s a classic feel-good movie that is perfect for those who love a good rom-com and just want a few good laughs. “Ticket to Paradise” was released in theaters on Oct. 21 and is still playing today. It is also available for purchase through streaming services like YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
Categories: Arts & Entertainment, featured
THE CAROLINIAN 
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