By John Corrado

★★½ (out of 4)

George Clooney and Julia Roberts reunite onscreen in Ticket to Paradise, a romantic comedy that serves as an exercise in they don’t make ‘em like this anymore cinema. The film is a throwback to 1990s or early-2000s rom-coms that follows the formula to a tee, but gets by on its star-power.

Clooney and Roberts star in the film as David and Georgia, a bitter former couple who got divorced 25 years earlier, and try to avoid each other as much as possible. But they are forced to reunite when their daughter Lily (Kaitlin Dever, nicely holding her own) graduates from law school.

To celebrate, Lily goes off to Bali with her best friend Wren (Billie Lourd), but she throws her parents for a loop when she informs them that she plans to marry Gede (Maxime Bouttier), the handsome seaweed farmer that she has just met on the island. David and Georgia fly to Bali with the joint plan of trying to stop the wedding, out of a sincere fear that she is repeating the same mistake they made over two decades earlier.

Directed by Ol Parker (Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again), who also co-wrote the screenplay, Ticket to Paradise serves as a picturesque romp through unresolved marital tensions that seems to model itself after old screwball comedies. The expected hijinks ensue as David and Georgia try in their own ways to sabotage their daughter’s wedding, all while being forced to spend more time together than they have in years. Of course, things are further complicated by the presence of Georgia’s new boyfriend; a younger pilot named Paul (Lucas Bravo).

Sure, the film is predictable almost to a fault, and there is a bit of a meanness to it at times that doesn’t always land. But it simply feels good to see two classic movie stars and their mega-wattage smiles back together again. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, or even come close to it, but Ticket to Paradise is still a breezy and enjoyable rom-com that does a nice job of passing the time, buoyed along by the undeniable chemistry of its two likeable leads.

Bonus Features (Blu-ray):

The Blu-ray includes a selection of four decent featurettes on the production. A regular DVD is also included in the package, which ships with a slipcover.

• Return of the Dynamic Duo (4 minutes, 36 seconds): Real life friends Clooney and Roberts talk about reuniting on screen and playing characters the age they are now.

• Destination Wedding (3 minutes, 38 seconds): Cast and crew talk about filming the wedding scene, and working with cultural supervisor Agung Pindha, who also plays Gede’s father in the film, to ensure it was accurate.

• Production in Paradise (3 minutes, 44 seconds): A look at filming in Australia, believably standing in for Bali.

• Keep a Straight Face (2 minutes, 35 seconds): Real life friends Dever and Lourd talk about how much fun they had filming together and playing besties.

Ticket to Paradise is a Universal Picture Home Entertainment release. It’s 104 minutes and rated PG.

Street Date: January 17th, 2023