You might have to wait a whole hour for Kristin Scott Thomas to appear in the guise of carefree and broke aristocrat Bijou in this breezy mid-life crisis drama set in Greece, but once she arrives everything suddenly falls into place.
Two tickets to Greece, the French title from director Marc Fitoussi (Call My Agent) follows two former school best friends Magalie (Laure Calamy) and Blandine (Olivia Côte) as they reconcile decades after falling out and losing touch with one another. Despite the years, Magalie hasn’t changed one bit and is still the life and soul of any party that will have her. On the other hand, stuck up upper middle class Blandine has forgotten how to have fun.
Newly divorced and still pining for her old married life, Blandine is spurred on by her well-adjusted grown-up son, Benjamin (Alexandre Desrousseaux), to take a trip with Magalie to the Greek isle where one of their favourite movies of the 1980s (Le Grand Bleu) was shot. This being a comedy of errors, the two find themselves facing a series of obstacles that keep them from reaching their intended destination, landing them right in the arms of Magalie’s old friend Bijou and her wealthy artist boyfriend, Dimitris (Panos Koronis). As the two former friends get closer, Blandine is forced to confront her own prejudices in order to move on from her recent troubles.
Writer-director Marc Fitoussi delivers a fun, if a little predictable Shirley Valentine-esque comedy that often misses the marque. Often saved by the irresistible joie de vivre of Call My Agent star Calamy, Two Tickets To Greece is at its best when it isn’t trying to emulate the most tedious of Hollywood comedies. The simplicity of the story and its overarching message would have been more than enough to keep audiences hooked till the end, but sadly this overlong and verbose drama comedy overstays its welcome by at least half an hour. Still it is all worth it to see Scott Thomas in another French role – which have been her best of late. While more than just a little forgettable, this sunny, optimistic caper is full of humour and good intentions.
