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Acting
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Directing
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Story
Starring: Gillian Jacobs, Vanessa Bayer, Phoebe Robinson
Director: Alex Richanbach
Running Time: 94 mins
Ibiza is an American film about a woman who travels to Spain on a business trip, followed by her two friends who turn the excursion into a no-holds-barred party getaway.
If you’re looking for a simple, fun-loving and easy-going party movie, then Ibiza more than fits the bill. There’s nothing especially memorable about it, but like a great night out, the movie is more than entertaining enough as you watch it even if you don’t remember it soon after.
Let’s start with the best part of Ibiza, the performances. In the lead role, Gillian Jacobs is genuinely likable, an impressive feat given that her character lets loose in a way that goes beyond the kind of intelligent person she’s meant to be.
It can be so easy for a film to turn normally level-headed characters into totally loose party maniacs, something which can often prove more annoying than anything, but Jacobs is charismatic enough throughout that it’s actually rather enjoyable to see her let her hair down with her friends on holiday.
As cheesy as the story eventually becomes, it’s the lead trio of Jacobs alongside Vanessa Bayer and Phoebe Robinson which makes this film soar, and their friendship through thick and thin – particularly as they desperately try to wrangle the ‘work’ bit of their trip back into order – is an absolute delight to watch throughout.
Ibiza doesn’t exactly have the funniest comedy you’ll ever encounter, instead proving a fairly mellow affair when it comes to laughs, but the film’s pace and hijinks do make it a fun watch even if you’re not chuckling your socks off, again delivering charismatic and action-packed entertainment over the course of what feels like one long night out.
I can’t speak much for the romance element of the story, which is generic to the point that it really doesn’t inspire much interest, although there is one nice scene between Jacobs and love interest Richard Madden towards the end of the film.
Overall, though, Ibiza is a film which does exactly what it says on the tin. A likable, fun-loving and easy-going comedy that doesn’t break any new ground, but delivers a good time where many others have already trodden. So, that’s why I’m giving it a 7.1.
