'Ticket to Paradise' review: George Clooney, Julia Roberts reunite in charming rom-com

Remember when Tom Cruise single-handedly brought back the movies with “Top Gun: Maverick?” It was the perfect product for the (hopefully) post-pandemic era, a rousing blockbuster with a warm wash of nostalgia, all centered on one of the biggest stars in the business. Now Hollywood has another treat to offer: “Ticket to Paradise,” featuring George Clooney and Julia Roberts in their first rom-com together since their “Ocean’s Eleven” years.

The good news: Clooney and Roberts, at 61 and 54 respectively, still work wonders together. Though the movie is filmed in such exotic locations as Bali and Queensland, the scenery pales next to these two radiant stars. Boy, does the camera love them! The less-good news is only this: “Ticket to Paradise,” charming as it is, could have been so much more.

Our romantic leads are David and Georgia Cotton, bitter divorcees who share a college-age daughter, Lily (Kaitlyn Dever), and nothing else. “We try not to be in the same time zone if we can help it,” Georgia grouses to an acquaintance. Lily is heading for a law career when she takes a trip to Bali and falls for a humble but handsome seaweed farmer, Gede (Maxime Bouttier). When news of their suddenly impending marriage reaches David and Georgia, they band together to stop Lily from making the same mistake they did.

The stop-the-wedding premise is an old one (Roberts has been through it at least once, in “My Best Friend’s Wedding”), but it also suits this movie’s aspirations to classic screwball comedy. The screenplay, by director Ol Parker (“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”) and Daniel Pipski, is wispy-thin but serves its purpose, which is to devote nearly every minute to its two stars. Whether they’re bickering on a plane, playing competitive beer pong or waking up together after a night of drunk-dancing to House of Pain’s “Jump Around,” Clooney and Roberts always manage to sparkle.

If anything, “Ticket to Paradise” relies on them a little too much. Dever, such a strong presence in “Booksmart,” is reduced to the blushing bride role, while Billie Lourd (also of “Booksmart”) is underused as Lily’s rowdy friend Wren. Only Lucas Bravo, as Georgia’s hapless beau, Paul, manages to score some valuable screen time of his own. Even Clooney and Roberts need support, but they don't get much of that here.

In the end, “Ticket to Paradise” is a pretty good deal: Two hours in the tropics with two of the most beautiful and charismatic stars in modern cinema. It may not be everything you wanted, but it’s close.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com@raferguzman