Ticket to Paradise

Corny jokes? Check. Predictable plot? Check. Questionable culture clash choices? Check.

Goofy fun with two of our best movie stars? Also check.

Thanks to the joyful chemistry between Julia Roberts and George Clooney, Ticket to Paradise succeeds where equally boilerplate rom-coms fail, serving up steady laughs and a desire to see these two in more movies — together and individually.

In what may as well be called Ocean’s 2, Ol Parker’s film finds long-divorced, antagonistic Georgia (Roberts) and David (Clooney) flying to Bali after their recent law school graduate daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever, Booksmart) announces she’s marrying local seaweed farmer Gede (Maxime Bouttier) after knowing him for just over a month — and promptly committing to break up the nuptials.

The combination of the charismatic leads hurling Parker’s and co-writer Daniel Pipski’s generally funny insults at each other against beautiful tropical backdrops while partaking in such ill-advised adventures as a game of beer pong with cups full of the local strong liquor prove surprisingly resilient.

And though easily guessed, the gradual melting of the exes’ mutual iciness and the evolution of their thoughts regarding the wedding are packed with enough charm and heart to not feel like they were entirely concocted by an algorithm.

Could a less beloved pairing of actors have carried out Ticket to Paradise as successfully? Perhaps, but considering the grins that Roberts and Clooney induce over these disposable 100 minutes, we have the pleasure of witnessing the gold standard see the job through.

Grade: B. Rated PG-13. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Universal Pictures)