Movie Review - Bible Based: Ticket to Paradise

This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.

Going Native

Plot Overview

Graduation Day Marriage Counseling Twenty-five years ago David Cotton (George Clooney) achieved a settled situation in Chicago at the same time his sweetheart Georgia (Julia Roberts) was graduating from college with a dream offer in L.A. He made a grand gesture at her graduation and she accepted his proposal. They enjoyed five years of marriage before a divorce and had a daughter Lily whom he got one day & on weekends, she the rest of the time. They've spent the next twenty years ignoring each other.

the diploma Fantasy Island Express They are thrown together briefly at Lily's graduation, then she is off to a Bali vacation with her bff Wren Butler (Billie Lourd) before following up with her law school plans.

fishes lovers While snorkeling in paradise they get separated from their boat to be rescued by native islander Gede (Maxime Bouttier,) a seaweed farmer. He's a regular Adonis instantly winning Lily's heart, and in one month her parents receive invitations to their Bali wedding. David and Georgia are thrown together again on the plane and in the hotel where they conspire to sabotage the wedding so the couple doesn't make the same mistake they did.

Ideology

The ticket having both a departure and a destination lends itself to comparison of marriage customs. I'll quote Dr. Ide: “The Contemporary Christian standard was defined not by the bible but generated by Roman law as defined by the jurist Modestinus who argued that marriage was ‘consortium omnis vitae, divini et humani iuris communicatio: a life-long partnership, and a sharing of civil and religious rights’” (83–5). It's not just what the state, the civil authority decides, but religious authority has some play in the matter, too. Excerpting from an article on How To Get Married Legally in Bali?

To have official or legal wedding in Bali is possible almost for all couples. Legal wedding registration in Bali is not expensive and procedure is quite clear and simple. Possessing both Religious and Civil (or Legal) wedding ceremonies in Bali is recognized as legal by most of foreign countries. Please note that the procedure of legal marriage in Bali can a bit vary depending on your nationality and whether your country has a consulate or embassy in Bali or Indonesia. That's why we recommend you to contact us first and check all details before you go any-further.

If you want to get legally married in Bali you should follow only 2 conditions:

to be the same main religion with your partner.

to provide us with simple documents listed below.

Based on Indonesian Marriage Law No.1 of 1974 concerning, couple must be the same main religion. If not, bride or groom should sign a letter that he or she intends to marry in one of the religion they agreed without force from his/her partner; the letter should be legalized by the consulate office or local government. In Indonesia are recognized the following main religions: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. To get legally married in Bali you are required to have both a religious and legal ceremony (excepting Muslim couples). The religious ceremony and the legal ceremony must be held at the same location on the same day. That means that your wedding ceremony will be attended both by representatives: from your religion (priest, monk, pastor etc) and from Indonesian Civil Registry Office (Kantor Catatan Sipil). And you will even get 2 certificates. In future you will need only legal certificate and religious can be for your memory.

For Muslims is no need for an additional civil ceremony. The religious ceremony is held by a representative of the Kantor Urusan Agama which translates like “The office of religious affairs.” And that ceremony is already considered as legal marriage in Bali or Indonesia.

Religious ceremonies under Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christian-Protestant can be held everywhere in Bali: in villa, hotel, beach, cliff, temple etc. If you intend to marry under Catholic religion, you are required to do it in a Catholic church in Bali and for reception you can choose any other place.

For Buddhism faith additionally must be provided:

Fill in the Buddhist marriage blessing application obtained from Vihara wedding administration office.

In TTP Gede touts harmony of nature, God & people, so he's monotheistic, one of three major religions that are. He leads a hunting party of two to kill a pig for dinner. Since Jews and Muslims don't eat pork, that makes him Christian. Since the wedding doesn't take place in a Catholic church, that makes him Christian–Protestant. Since David and Georgia wear yoga pants that makes them Hindu who presumably brought up Lily as such.

I Corinthians 7 The apostle Paul back in the day spent two or three years preaching in the bustling city of Corinth where Christianity had been unknown until then. He got a lot of converts, not all of them as wedded pairs, and some were undoubtedly espoused to non-christians. Marital conflicts over religious mismatch led some to write him for advice, and he responded by telling them to try to convert the unbelieving spouse, to stick with it regardless, but to let the other have a divorce if wanted. In a follow-up letter, an oblique reference is made to such circumstances in a rhetorical question: (2Cor. 6:15) “What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” Applied to going through with a particular marriage, it is up to the principals to decide if it is right for them; many but not all Christians decide not to marry unbelievers, and it is their personal decision, not the apostle's. As J.R.R. Tolkien's grown grandson put it, “We're not Hindus. People have to be allowed to decide who they want to be with” (45.) Lily's (Hindu) parents are seen to be exerting an undue influence over her intended marriage. The apostle, however, uses the example of mismatch strife to forbid incorporating heathenism into church services: (2Cor. 6:14) “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: ...” He forbids to a congregation (“ye”) what he at most suggests to an individual (thou.)

In TTP George (Hindu) has a man-to-man talk with Gede (Christian) suggesting that when the going gets rough in a few years, Lily (Hindu) will be seeking a divorce. And he'd have to allow it.

The closest the apostle intrudes on matchmaking is when he cautions the widow not to be so man-crazy as to let a rebound crowd out the Lord. In marrying whomever she wants, she's got to function (1Cor. 7:39) “in the Lord.” In this Bali application, Gede would not be permitted to give his consent to a Hindu ceremony, but his marriage to Lily would have to be with her consent to his (“in the Lord.”) In the movie Lily does have to push through a hitch, but we're spared all the nuts and bolts under the hood.

In some South American countries, couples have a religious—Catholic?—ceremony first, and then they go down to the courthouse for a separate civil one. In Albania when religion was outlawed, believers had their sanctioned state wedding and then they had a separate secret one in the woods with a priest. In America where Lily was from, a religious figure is licensed to do the civil honors concurrent with his religious ceremony. If a couple has a civil ceremony by the Justice of the Peace, the two necessary witnesses stand for the religious dimension, potential or actual, according to the culturally assimilated Protestant doctrine of the priesthood of the believer. Protocol forbids using officers of the court as witnesses in this case, to preserve separation of church and state. If this protocol were violated, the heterosexual marriage would lack a religious dimension as do same-sex unions these days for other reasons.

David and Georgia's tumultuous relationship illustrated in the breach what Protestant reformer Martin Luther promoted as the “companionate marriage” that has culturally caught on.

Production Values

“” (2022) was written and directed by Ol Parker with co-writer Daniel Pipski. It stars George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Kaitlyn Dever and Maxime Bouttier. Clooney and Roberts have plausible chemistry as a bickering couple on a mission from providence. Dever and Bouttier were jump-started in an intimacy that must be taken on faith. Amusing supporting performances were had from Lucas Bravo as the younger boyfriend of the mother, and Billie Lourd as the left out daughter's friend.

MPAA rated it PG–13 for some strong language and brief suggestive material. It was filmed at Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia. The scenery supports an, alas, forgettable script. The comedic one-liners & set pieces are pretty funny. The romantic element is pitch perfect. The cinematography by Ole Bratt Birkeland captures the surrounding scenery. The music by Lorne Balfe makes nice background melody. There was some great dancing from eager feet. Runtime is 1¾ hours. Bloopers and outtakes appear during the closing credits.

Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation

This sure wasn't any “South Pacific” though it was interesting to watch. It had reliable actors, a sure-winner location, and a tried-and-true theme. You'll pretty much get what you expect.

Movie Ratings

Action Factor: Weak action scenes. Suitability for Children: Suitable for children 13+ years with guidance. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Predictable. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.

Works Cited

Scripture taken from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.

Ide, Arthur Frederick. Noah & the Ark: The Influence of Sex, Homophobia and Heterosexism in the Flood Story and its Writing.
Las Colinas: Monument Press, 1992. Print.

Movie: Ticket to Paradise

Bible Based Review