Universal is hoping that audiences will continue to show love for romantic comedies with “Ticket to Paradise” and Billy Eichner’s romantic comedy “Bros,” which opens in theaters this summer.Įichner, 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. 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. Romantic comedies have mostly been brushed off as a dying breed, at least theatrically speaking. 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 “Oceans Twelve.” Roberts, the patron saint of romantic comedies, hasn’t returned to the genre in nearly 20 years. 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. The minute they land on the beach, she tells them: “You don’t have to do a whole Trojan Horse thing.” “We have to do a Trojan Horse to make her think we’re OK with this,” Clooney tells his ex-wife.
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. “I’m including the recovery,” he fires back. “Worst 19 years of my life,” Clooney says, to which Roberts replies, “We were only married for five.” Another moment that got a chuckle from the crowd: Robert and Clooney’s characters refused to sit next to each other on the plane and hurled insults until a flight attendant lets them switch.