Madison Messenger - November 6th, 2022

PAGE 10 - MADISON MESSENGER - November 6, 2022
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Romantic comedy uses star power to shine
A vital piece missing in the romantic comedies of late—besides a
truly original plot—is the lack of genuine movie stars. To be fair and
kind to up-and-coming actors and the well-known faces cast in their
stead, they mostly do an admirable job of trying to sell these products
of pure fluff to the masses, but it is the movie star that can
make even the most standard rom-com pop off the screen.
“Ticket to Paradise”, a romantic comedy released solely into the
theaters on Oct. 21, understands the power stars can hold. Truthfully,
the movie doesn’t have a great script, but it doesn’t have to
because George Clooney and Julia Roberts are speaking its words.
And it’s not even that romantic, but it doesn’t have to be because
Clooney is smiling his crinkly smile and Roberts is giving her clarion
call laugh. Heck, it’s not even particularly good, but it doesn’t
really have to be because these sparkling and beautiful people are
throwing their sparkle and beauty around in a movie whose locale
is as equally sparkling and beautiful.
This is a film that knows it is not a great piece of cinematic art,
but it effortlessly wields the power of the movie star and somehow
manages to be light and fun and mostly charming. With the shininess
of the stars and the magnificent beachscapes, it lulls you into
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looking past its general ho-humness
and asks that you bask in
a world you could never dream
of living in—or afford to, for most
of us.
In “Ticket to Paradise,”
Clooney plays David Cotton, a bachelor architect living
in Chicago who, after nearly 20 years of being divorced,
still gripes about his first and only wife to anyone willing
to lend an ear—or just be in his general vicinity. For
her part, Roberts plays Georgia Cotton, a gallerist semiliving
with her pilot boyfriend. After nearly 20 years of
being divorced, she still gripes about her first and only
husband to anyone willing to lend an ear—or just be in
her general vicinity.
Although they are bitter exes to the core, David and
Georgia have managed to raise a nearly perfect daughter,
Lily (Kaitlyn Dever), who has just graduated from
law school and is on her way to a prestigious job at the
top law-firm in Illinois. To celebrate Lily’s accomplishments,
David and Georgia have paid to send her and her
best friend, Wren (Billie Lourd), on an all-expenses paid
vacation to Bali for two months before they have to get
used to the soul-sucking grind of adulthood.
Feeling as if they did a good deed by working together
on this project, the (when put together) demonic
duo agrees to never see or speak to the other again.
They do just that until Lily shoots off an email saying
she met a wonderful local man named Gede (Maxime
Bouttier) and they plan to marry within a week’s time.
Not wanting their daughter to make the same mistake
as they did—David and Georgia married right out
of college, and Georgia put her career on hold to support
her family—they strike a rare truce and agree to work
together to sabotage their daughter’s impending nuptials.
While the film does not fully acknowledge how
truly awful their mission is and how off the deep-end
they are, the genuine movie stars play their parts so
well they manage to infuse their characters with pathetic
charm so you do not outright hate them for their
occasional bouts of wretchedness.
the reel deal
Dedra Cordle
This romantic comedy likes
to split its time between the two
couples, one fresh in the bloom
of love and the other, well, decidedly
not—or so it seems. Over
the course of trying to crush
their daughter’s heart and
spirit, the latter pair can’t help
but get swept up in the magic of
the island and the unresolved
issues that frayed their once loving
friendship and romance. Although
both of the couples could
use a bit more romantic chemistry, it’s hard to deny the
adults are the most interesting pairing to watch, much
of it due to the fact that they were given the most material
to work with and had the characters who were the
most developed. It also doesn’t hurt that they are played
by movie stars who know how to chew the fat from any
scene.
“Ticket to Paradise” is a movie where you can see
how much fun the actors had filming it, and for the most
part, that translates out of the screen and with the audience.
But with its over-reliance on the star power of
Clooney and Roberts, some aspects of the film suffer
from a lack of attention paid to other important elements,
like the dialogue or development of secondary
characters you are also supposed to care about.
Overall, this film isn’t a bad one, but if you are able
to withstand the presence of Clooney and Roberts together
again, you’ll probably notice the cracks in the
foundation a bit more. But if you just want to turn off
your brain and watch beautiful people do ugly things
and then put in some work to beautify themselves again
in a majestic location, then this might be something you
want to check out when you get a chance.
Grade: B-
Dedra Cordle is a Messenger staff writer and columnist.
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