Female Film Critics 24/375
Wolfs lets George Clooney and Brad Pitt satirize their serious personas, wholly embracing a humorous mockery of their oh-so glamorous, sophisticated personas. Throughout their masterfully synchronized pas-de-deux, they play off each other with obvious delight, inviting us to forget our troubles and join in. Wolfs is a lark—silly, diverting, and just what is needed as an alternative to serious summer fare.
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In Wolfs, George Clooney and Brad Pitt play rival underworld ‘fixers’ who must reluctantly work together to clean up a crime scene at a posh New York City hotel. This buddy/action dramedy was originally supposed to have a major theatrical release but plans obviously changed. Written and directed by Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home), it’s certainly not a thriller and not exactly a comedy, although Clooney and Pitt obviously find it somewhat amusing.
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Familiarity breeds familiarity in Wolfs, Jon Watts’ vehicle for George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Not only are the two fixers who are called in on the same job “pretty much the same guy” – the audience is accustomed to Clooney and Pitt’s natural chemistry and back and forth. Wolfs is the kind of movie that runs on autopilot, but if you’re happy with a Clooney and Pitt reunion in a minor work it’s enjoyable fare.
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George Clooney helms The Boys in the Boat as a classic underdog sports saga set during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Based on Daniel James Brown’s 2013 non-fiction best-seller, it begins with elderly Joe Rantz watching a young boy rowing a boat in a lake – which reminds him of the challenges of his youth at the University of Washington. Unlike many of his classmates, young Joe didn’t have parents who could pay his tuition. He lives in a dilapidated car and often goes hungry. He’s had to work for every penny – with jobs few and far between. Then he hears about tryouts for the junior varsity rowing team. If he qualifies, he’ll get three meals a day, lodging and enough of a stipend to pay his tuition bills.
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The well-known, true, inspirational story recounts the triumph of eight young men and their coxswain rowing for the University of Washington in the 1930s Depression Era. Each man had a hard luck story, and all had to endure demanding workouts to earn their desperately needed places in the boat. In seamless unity, they then had to defeat the senior rowers, wealthy, experienced university teams, and, eventually, the best in the world at the 1936 Nazi Olympics.
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Booking Ticket to Paradise is for those of us who yearn for an old-fashioned romantic comedy, starring two of the most appealing movie stars from yesteryear who still have impeccable chemistry. Bali is certainly beautiful but is living in paradise enough to sustain a marriage over the long run? It’s predictable and formulaic but there are enough amusing chuckles along the way to justify a visit.
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At one point in Ticket to Paradise, George Clooney and Julia Roberts hit an outdoor dance floor. He bobs his head up and around like an owl startled from a burrow. Both do the running man, wiggle their arms in a wave, and jump around to early 1990s hip-hop while Roberts uncorks that distinctive laugh. Such goofy shenanigans are few in Ticket to Paradise.The film is pleasant enough if you’re satisfied watching two well-loved stars coast on their charisma in a gorgeous tropical setting.
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It’s kind of hard to say no to anything with George Clooney or Julia Roberts. But when they team up for a rom-com, I’m sold! Like most romantic comedies, I’m sure you see where this story is going. When it comes to rom-coms, it’s not the predictability that is the issue, it’s whether or not we are served a fresh perspective and/or a handful of laughs. Ticket to Paradise offers nothing new story wise and, sadly, not a whole lot of laughs.
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Julia Roberts and George Clooney reunite on the big screen in Ticket to Paradise, a romantic comedy that is so full of cliches it’s like a cheap knockoff. You don’t need to purchase a ticket to this paradise to know where the film is going. Basically it’s bickering and buffoonery. In the end, everyone lives happily ever after…except maybe the audience. You can’t please everyone. A mid movie doze was my Ticket to Paradise.
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Director George Clooney has a refined touch, by which I mean that without understatement and restraint The Tender Bar could have easily tipped over into sentimental mush, which it doesn’t. Instead, it presents a snapshot of 1970s and 80s working class individuals inhabiting Manhasset, Long Island and New Haven, and the communities they share. Based on J.R. Moehringer’s 2005 memoir of that title, the story focuses on J.R. at two decisive stages of life: as an impressionable boy and a student at Yale.
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