Well, this is a little weird.
A film with two actual American movie stars is playing in other countries, but not here, not yet.
George Clooney and Julia Roberts — surely among our biggest stars — headline a romantic comedy called “Ticket to Paradise.” It’s released by Universal. When I say released, I mean elsewhere.
“Ticket to Paradise” doesn’t premiere in the US until October 21st, more than a month from now. But it is playing in other countries. So far it’s made around $2 million total in places like Spain, Brazil, and Greece. It’s also made $13,000 in Bolivia.
On Rotten Tomatoes, “Ticket to Paradise” has a respectable 69%, with 32 reviews. Of those, 20 are positive. The comedy is described as a kind of goof, not to be taken seriously, just a nice romp with good looking people. One reviewer called it “feel good escapism.”
So why isn’t here in America? Universal has to release “Bros” first, that’s a big one, and they’re concentrating on Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” for the Oscars, so they are busy. Also, they may be trying to build steam for “Ticket” around the world so there’s good of mouth when it finally opens domestically.
I actually think more of these kinds of movies would help Hollywood, the Oscars, and so on promote the brand and the idea of American cinema. Leo Di Caprio has never been in a romcom. Why not? He would be great as a modelizing bachelor trying to court Anne Hathaway. We need this stuff. I think the reason we don’t have it anymore is this kind of movie is considered dessert. No one who makes movies eats dessert. They just want a lot of grilled vegetables!
