[imagesource: YouTube / Universal Pictures]

George Clooney and Julia Roberts were last seen together in Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, and Money Monster, so everyone was really excited to catch a glimpse of their on-screen chemistry in Ticket to Paradise.

Getting these Hollywood heavyweights back together again for a classic wedding-ruining rom-com in a tropical location, complete with the will-they-won’t-they-get-back-together trope, looked really promising.

Except the movie seems to have fallen flat with heaps of criticisms and stinging reviews.

The Daily Beast reckons the “unloveable” movie should be completely skipped:

Ticket to Paradise? This is a one-way ticket to Snoozeville! Not even Julia Roberts and George Clooney can save this glacially paced romcom devoid of any “rom” or “com.” More like rom-come on!

Roger Ebert’s site gave the film two stars, noting that the “dispiriting script relies too heavily on its A-list actors’ magnetic presence alone, instead of bothering with a good story that we can root for”.

The review asks “How do you f**k that up?”, blaming the second romantic tale that unfolds around Roberts and Clooney, involving their daughter Lily.

The young couple meets in “the laziest meet-cute sequence imaginable”:

It would have been one thing if “Ticket to Paradise” spent some real time thinking through the young fiancés, helping us understand what makes them interesting and right for each other. But in the aftermath, you’ll be shocked at how little you’ll learn about either, apart from their vast affection for the locale they often call beautiful.

Well, of course it is beautiful because what we see is mostly a luxury resort, a fact that makes the “I understand why she likes it here” quote from the parents painfully funny when they show empathy towards Lily’s decision to stay. Doesn’t everyone like a luxury resort?

The Washinton Post‘s two-star review also comments on how the “lush scenery” and “Hollywood royalty” don’t quite allow you to forget that the “writing is skimpier than a bikini”.

If you hit the theatres to see Ticket to Paradise, don’t expect to be blown away – just lightly tickled, perhaps.

One of the only redeemable parts of the film is the end credits blooper reel, per a kinder The Daily Beast write-up:

The thrill I got from the verbal-sparring-flub showcase between Clooney and Roberts is worth the price of admission. Ad-libbed jabs that veer on the edge of taking it too far, jumpscares, forgotten lines, and a playful dig at the former Batman are a few of the charming moments, a return to gag reel cinematic greatness.

Since everyone is hitting play for Clooney and Roberts goofing around together, you might as well just watch something that is centred completely on the pair, like this Jimmy Kimmel interview:

You’re welcome.

[sources:dailybeast&rogerebert&washingtonpost]