The romantic comedy that reunites stars Julia Roberts and George Clooney, Ticket to Paradise opened in theaters on Oct. 21 and joins a genre that features other memorable films set on islands. Even if this movie pretends to take place on an island where it wasn’t filmed, that doesn’t mean we can’t draw romantic inspiration from it anyway.
Since all of them are available via various streaming services, this makes for one epic tropical movie night. Check out these options to get a sneak peek at stunning destinations that include Hawaii, French Polynesia, the Greek Isles, the Caribbean, and more.
Couples Retreat
Kristen Bell again gets in on the rom-com action—this time with Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau and Malin Ackerman—in 2009’s Couples Retreat, which centers on a romantic South Pacific getaway gone awry for two couples. The movie was filmed in Bora Bora at the St. Regis Bora Bora Resort.
Mamma Mia!
While set on the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi, the 2008 film Mamma Mia!—based on the hit Broadway Musical inspired by the ABBA song and starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters—was filmed on the island of Skopelos (part of the Sporades chain), where most of the outdoor scenes, among them two musical numbers set on Kastani Beach, were shot. The hotel scenes at the fictional Villa Donna hotel were, however, filmed on a soundstage in the United Kingdom.
Cocktail
The hit 1988 film Cocktail, starring Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, Elisabeth Shue, and Gina Gershon, was partly filmed on the Caribbean Island of Jamaica, more specifically at a bar on Dragon Beach in Port Antonio. Filming also took place in Ocho Rios and at Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica with earlier big-city bar scenes shot in Manhattan (also an island) and Toronto.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
The 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, starring Kristen Bell, Jason Segal, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand, tells the story of a wannabe puppeteer (Segal) who books a vacation at a resort in Hawaii only to discover that his former movie star girlfriend is also at the resort—and is vacationing with her new boyfriend (Brand). It was filmed at Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu.
50 First Dates
The island of Oahu was the co-star in 2004’s 50 First Dates, starring Drew Barrymore as a woman suffering short-term memory loss and Adam Sandler as a previously commitment-phobic-veterinarian-turned-persistent-suitor. Some Hawaiian sites and attractions that appear in the film include Sandy Beach Park, Makapuu Lighthouse, Dole Plantation and Sea Life Park.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
The 1998 romantic comedy How Stella Got Her Groove Back stars Angela Bassett as a workaholic divorced mother who travels to Jamaica and begins a relationship with a much younger local man, played by Taye Diggs. It was partially filmed in Villa 11 at Round Hill Hotel & Villas. Whoopi Goldberg and Regina King also star in the film.
