Just mention that Julia Roberts and George Clooney are teaming up in a rom-com and you've already got a large portion of moviegoers interested.The two superstars have appeared together in movies before (Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve and Money Monster), but never an out-and-out comedy. This is the movie that fans have been waiting for, for a long time.
Clooney and Roberts play divorced couple David and Georgia Cotton, who only managed to stay married for five years before their relationship dissolved in acrimony. They feel the only good thing to come from their union was their daughter, Lily (Kaitlyn Dever). When she graduates from college as a lawyer with a job waiting for her, they couldn't be more proud, even if they do have to be in the same room to attend her graduation.
After graduation, when Lily goes to Bali for a well-deserved vacation before she begins her new job, she meets the love of her life -- a seaweed farmer named Gede (Maxime Bouttier). She soon realizes she can't leave this paradise and this sweet man to go work long hours in an office every day. They decide to marry, and a horrified David and Georgia immediately fly to Bali to talk her out of making the same mistake they did.
Somehow, they manage to be seated next to each other on the plane. Not only that, but the pilot happens to be Georgia's much younger, very handsome French boyfriend Paul (Lucas Bravo), who offered to take the flight when he knew Georgia would be on it. In fact, he's extremely accomodating when it comes to Georgia, constantly complimenting her and declaring that she's "perfect."
The chemistry between Roberts and Clooney is put to good use in plenty of laugh-out-loud scenes, including one in which they go swimming with dolphins; another in which they play beer pong in the resort and begin dancing -- much to Lily's horror; and team up long enough to put a slight snag in Lily and Gede's upcoming nuptials, hoping the young couple will come to their senses.
Clooney and Roberts' banter is consistently hilarious -- for characters who profess to dislike each other, they're never nasty or mean; their put-downs are delivered with just the right flavor to make them funny.
Supporting actor Lucas Bravo (a starring cast member of the hit Netflix series Emily in Paris, who was also recently seen in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris) is priceless in the role of Georgia's eager-to-please boyfriend, while Billie Lourd is equally entertaining as Lily's best friend Wren, delivering a lot of the laughs not just through her lines but through sight gags that get the audience giggling.
Someone has to play the serious character surrounded by all this wackiness and that's left to Kaitlyn Dever as Lily, who portrays the love she feels for her (at-times childish) parents with equal parts charm and exasperation.
Make sure to stay for the outtakes that play during the credits for even more hilarity that went on behind the scenes, including one bit that has Clooney joking with an extra during the graduation scene. ~Alexandra Heilbron
5 out of 5 stars.
Super