Outrageous female friendship comedies with heart that take place in foreign lands are en vogue as of late. Writer-director Marc Fitoussi’s French Two Tickets to Greece is the independent, much less raunchy, and lighter version of the big-budget laugh-riot that is Joy Ride. The story centers on the reserved Blandine (Olivia Côte) and uninhibited Magalie (Laure Calamy). At the start, these two middle school chums with opposite personalities reunite.
Blandine is down and out about life and divorce, so her son Benjamin (Alexandre Desrousseaux) sets up a dinner date with the long-lost friends after hearing his mom’s stories from the old days. The reunion dinner does not go well in Blandine’s eyes due to the crazy, freeloading, and free spirit nature of Magalie. But she lies to her son and says it went swimmingly. Blandine and Benjamin have a luxurious trip to Greece planned together, but he can’t make it at the last minute, so he arranges for Magalie to go in his stead, much to his mother’s dismay. Due to a hare-brained scheme from Magalie to save a few bucks, they end up getting lost and do not make it to their Greek destination island and luxury hotel.
“…they end up getting lost and do not make it to their Greek destination island…”
In essence, Two Tickets to Greece is an Odd Couple-like trip where the main characters clash over their different views on how to move through life. Côte and Calamy have a certain charm and nice chemistry together. But the material is more of a subtle, mildly amusing variety than what has been on the big screen as of late. The most outlandish scene is probably when Magalie surprises her friend by being completely nude in their room.
The tone is a cross between a light comedy and a drama, leaving things feeling slightly off. Fitoussi would have been better served to go all in on one or the other. The Greek coast scenery is gorgeous, and I enjoyed these actresses, but I wish that they had been given either a hilarious comedy or a serious drama to work with. Côte and Calamy displayed flashes of being able to pull off either genre. The various situations could have been crazier as well because they get lost and just end up in a different, beautiful part of Greece while meeting some surfers they’re into. It is not exactly a formula for a female Hangover.
My other criticism is that Two Tickets to Greece, with a runtime of nearly 2 hours, is too long. Half an hour could easily have been edited out to give the movie a faster pace. As it is, Olivia Côte and Laure Calamy make the film worth watching if you are in the mood for a story about an awkward but enduring friendship.
