Middle-Age Hearts Run Free — in Greece

It’s easy to be cynical about a movie like “Two Tickets to Greece.” Featuring two single, middle-age French women who travel together to the Greek isles, the just-released film contains all the clichés one would expect from such a set-up: gorgeous scenery, boat rides, flirtations with local men and fellow tourists, heart-to-heart conversations, rehashed resentments, reconciliations, and, of course, dancing. What is unexpected is how easily one falls for it all, how the viewer enjoys every formulaic beat. As a character says at one point, “It’s good to be conventional sometimes.”That’s not to say there aren’t a few surprises in store for prospective ticket buyers. Writer/director Marc Fitoussi keeps things light and predictable throughout, but he’s smart enough to know that the introduction of a few extra elements, like a new character more than halfway through the movie, adds fresh flavor to a familiar stew.Blandine and Magalie are our two friends. Divorcée Blandine lives in a Paris suburb and works as a radiology technician. She is uptight, repressed, and bitter about her husband leaving her for a younger woman two years earlier. Magalie is almost exactly the opposite: a freelance writer and free spirit, she lives at the heart of Paris — Montmartre, naturally — and is dating a bisexual guy. The two were very close in middle school, but lost touch with each other after an argument over a boy. Blandine’s son Benjamin, in an effort to get her out of her funk, helps them reconnect, though the friendship isn’t exactly revived after an awkward dinner. Still, when Benjamin can’t go to Greece with his mother as planned, he implores her to travel with Magalie. Placing her reservations aside, Blandine decides to go with her former friend.Once in Greece, their plans predictably don’t go as the characters hoped, as they also don’t in other “middle-aged women in Greece” movies like “Shirley Valentine” and “Mamma Mia!” One anticipates amusing occurrences and bungled itineraries from such a storyline, and “Two Tickets to Greece” delivers in both respects, especially with a character as impulsive as Magalie along for the ride. As played by a blonde Laure Calamy, recently seen in “Full Time,” Magalie is unabashedly sensual, a bit of a scammer, and more than a little obnoxious, yet she’s also sensitive to her friend’s needs and forthright in her wish to rekindle the friendship. Blandine, on the other hand, isn’t so sure they have much in common anymore, and Olivia Côte, seen last year in “My Donkey, My Lover & I,” balances Magalie’s wackiness with graceful gravity.A study in contrasts, the movie asks whether two different personalities can be friends, and whether people can change. Its depth of feeling for the importance of friendship sneaks up on viewers, especially in a few scenes near the end, and most of the credit must go to both actresses. Ms. Côte and Ms. Calamy don’t exaggerate their respective character traits but subtly demonstrate how each is confident in who they are while also needing approval from the other. When Kristin Scott Thomas turns up as Magalie’s friend Bijou, who’s been living on Mykonos with a Greek painter, a further perspective on friendship and life’s ups and downs is gained. And, of course, more hilarity ensues.In his seventh feature film, Mr. Fitoussi gives his heroines some genuine jokes and humorous scenarios in which to shine. Having also co-written and directed several episodes of “Call My Agent!” in which Ms. Calamy and Ms. Côte appeared as well, it makes sense that he sprinkles in quite a few direct references to movies and pop culture, everything from “The Big Blue” and “Point Break” to disco music. What I’ll most remember, though, from “Two Tickets to Greece” are a few of its quieter scenes, such as when Blandine, upon arriving in Greece and refusing a beer, decides to have a sip from her friend’s brew mug when Magalie steps away. A bit of foam remains on her upper lip as she looks off to the distance, and we finally see the character relax and smile. It’s a sublime moment in a movie that has more than its fair share.

Middle-Age Hearts Run Free — in Greece

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