Is it just me or does "Two Tickets to Paradise" sound like it was released in the mid-to-late 1980's?  Seriously, when I heard that starred John C. McGinley and D.B. Sweeney, my mind instantly jumped to the conclusion that it must be minor gem from early in their careers. Not the case as it's an extremely recent production and, also, decidedly not a gem.

It's not hard to appreciate what writer/director/star D.B. Sweeney is going for. The film (originally titled "Dirt Nap") features three best friends who are realizing that their lives aren't exactly everything they've hoped for. Sweeney is Billy, a washed up almost-rock star who has just caught his wife cheating on him. McGinley is Mark, a family man with a serious gambling problem and whose actions have started to threaten his wife and child. Paul Hipp rounds out the trio as a an equally down-on-his-luck middle-aged fellow who has never found the right woman and whose mother drives him insane. When Paul wins two tickets to the out-of-state college football championship, the group sets off to the game.

There's all manner of escapades along the way and, for what it's worth, it's got some fine performances (especially from McGinley who, it seems, may be incapable of a bad performance). Sadly, the pacing is all over the place. A lot of the trip (it being mostly a road movie) is delivered like stand up comedy and, while at times fun to watch, could be removed or rearranged without affecting the plot.

The biggest trouble the movie has is establishing the real critical plot element: Mark wants to pull a Willy Loman to protect his family and -- since they're equally downtrodden -- his friends decide to do the same. This sort of comes out of nowhere about halfway through and the plan to pull it off is so ridiculous, it feels like you're suddenly watching another movie. The banter of the actors works so great at times that we don't need silliness like them all taking mushrooms or accidentally burning down a roadside attraction.

Also -- and I'm making a ruling here -- you can no longer feature "Oh no! We lost the map!" in a movie ever again. Not only are we beyond that, technology-wise but I'm pretty certain that driving from Philadelphia to Florida doesn't require much of a map in the first place.

Featurewise, the best part of the disc is the commentary. Sweeney talks at length about the production and what it meant to him and it does a nice job of making you appreciate what's there. He's working with very little outside some good friends and -- for a first-time director -- he pulls together something that's at least watchable. On his track, he goes into detail on the behind-the-scenes elements. Everything from working with alligators to getting sponsorship from beer and cigarette companies.

There are a few deleted scenes and a five-minute roll of "outtakes", both of which are nearly interchangeable. Again, it's nice to see the on-set camaraderie but there's nothing mind-blowing or even particularly memorable.

There are two trailers for the film, one of which uses the original title, "Dirt Nap" (which kind of makes more sense as a title but still isn't quite right.)

The big trick of "Two Tickets to Paradise" is relating it to your own friends and situation and I'll bet that a lot of the humor plays better to a sports-minded crowd. Still, there are some major plot holes to overcome before you can really appreciate the film for its legitimately dramatic performances. Fans of Sweeney or McGinley should certainly check it out but anyone else shouldn't go in expecting anything close to paradise.