I've loved D.B. Sweeney since "The Cutting Edge" for his totally heart-felt and down-to-earth style of acting. What this movie does, is take that style to the next level. The stuff we talk about with the friends we've known forever may sound pretty strange, stupid or boring to anyone else. "Two Tickets To Paradise" captures so poignantly just how all of these seemingly insignificant conversations and experiences weave together for each of us, creating not simply histories that we share with each other as old friends, but the compass by which we orient ourselves. Sweeney has written the dialogue about these three old friends in an honest, funny, and at times unbearably sad tone, reminding us of how we all can and do get stuck in our lives, to one degree or another, and how, invariably, our old friends become the yardstick, and maybe the impetus for us moving ourselves a few feet forward. All three main characters, as well as the minor characters give very well-modulated performances...no over-acting, no corny monologues, and a good, but not yucky-sweet,Hollywood ending. It's almost as if Sweeney is reminding us that we can give up cinematic junk food by experiencing films that deeply move us with simple reality instead of with the fantastic and improbable. Too bad that Moira Kelly didn't have a bigger part, since she and Sweeney have such natural chemistry together. Good tunes. Hope he makes more movies like this.
