Julia Roberts, George Clooney’s ‘Ticket to Paradise,’ Billy Eichner’s ‘Bros’ Showcased At CinemaCon
Universal Pictures brought a sneak peak of the film, which opens in theaters on October 21, to CinemaCon, the annual exhibition trade show currently underway in Las Vegas, reports ‘Variety’.
The two A-list stars were not present at the Caesars Palace to promote their film ‘Ticket to Paradise’, but theater owners in the audience still appeared to be entertained by their on-screen reunion.
Clooney and Roberts play a divorced couple who fly to Bali to stop their lovestruck daughter (played by Kaitlyn Dever) from marrying a man she barely knows. The trailer, which hasn’t been released yet to the public, showcases several funny moments, including Clooney’s character drinking everyone on the island under the table and playing beer pong, which later prompts him to do the wave and the funky chicken.
Another moment that tickled the funny bone of the crowd was Roberts and Clooney’s characters refused to sit next to each other on the plane and hurled insults until a flight attendant lets them switch.
“Worst 19 years of my life,” Clooney says, to which Roberts replies, “We were only married for five.”
“I’m including the recovery,” he replied back.
They attempt to set aside their differences and call a truce in the name of scaring their daughter out of marrying a person who is essentially a stranger.
“We have to do a Trojan Horse to make her think we’re OK with this,” Clooney tells his ex-wife. But their daughter doesn’t suffer fools. The minute they land on the beach, she tells them: “You don’t have to do a whole Trojan Horse thing.”
Ol Parker, best known for ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ and ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’, directed ‘Ticket to Paradise’ and co-wrote the script with Daniel Pipski.
Roberts, the patron saint of romantic comedies, hasn’t returned to the genre in nearly 20 years. But after a stretch including but not limited to ‘Pretty Women’, ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’, ‘Runaway Bride’, ‘Notting Hill’, and ‘Eat Pray Love’, Roberts says she struggled to fall in love with a script – that is, until ‘Ticket to Paradise’.
As a bonus, the film offered a chance for Roberts to reunite with Clooney for the first time since 2016’s heist thriller ‘Money Monster’. They also collaborated on director Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ and ‘Ocean’s Twelve’, reports ‘Variety’.
Romantic comedies have mostly been brushed off as a dying breed, according to ‘Variety’.
However, the genre has been showing signs of life after Paramount’s ‘The Lost City’, an amorous action-adventure starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, made a splash on the big screen this spring, grossing $100 million worldwide to date.
Universal is hoping that audiences will continue to show love for romantic comedies with ‘Ticket to Paradise’ and Billy Eichner’s romantic comedy ‘Bros’.
Eichner, who was on hand in Las Vegas, had the audience in stitches as he teed up the trailer for ‘Bros’, which is the first gay romantic comedy from a major studio.
“Usually when I come to Vegas, I come to see gay icons perform, like Cher, Britney Spears and the Bellagio fountain,” he joked.
He then skewered Hollywood for largely ignoring stories about same-sex couples.
“It’s important that before we got one movie about a gay couple we got two movies about talking hedgehogs,” he said.
Eichner added: “If you like hedgehogs you’ll love gay people.”
On a more serious note, Eichner said, “It isn’t about gay people suffering tragically, it’s about how hard it is to find another tolerable human being to go through life with.”
In the film, Eichner plays Bobby Leiber, a podcast host who get a shot at writing a romantic comedy about a gay couple, but one that “straight people will like.” The assignment forces Eichner’s character to confront his own issues around intimacy and relationships.
The footage gives a glimpse at sweeter moments, like Eichner’s love interest Luke Macfarlane, and raunchier moments, like a four-person orgy.
Eichner promised the theatre owners that gay people were good for business and added the film will be a positive experience for straight audiences. His character might disagree, however.
“Gay sex was more fun when straight people were uncomfortable with it,” Bobby lamented in the final moments of the trailer.
