Netflix Romantic Comedy Gives Girls A Weird Trip 

It’s not a star-studded film. In fact the people who stood out to me the most were Richard Madden of Game of Thrones fame and the always hysterical Michaela Watkins.

Everyone else is faintly recognizable, including the three actresses around whom the film is centered — Gillian Jacobs, Vanessa Bayer, and Phoebe Robinson. Still, Ibiza ends up being a fun, quick, girl power movie that leaves you wanting to book a trip with your own friends to Ibiza, or anywhere else beautiful. 

The movie begins with Harper (Jacobs) being offered (forced into?) a business trip to Barcelona by her overbearing, domineering, totally inappropriate boss, Sarah (Watkins). Harper agrees partially to escape the monotony of her work at the PR firm in New York City, and as she’s telling her two girlfriends, Nikki and Leah (Bayer and Robinson respectively), about the trip, they decide they’ll crash the trip and join her. But wait, how do we end up in Ibiza? 

Well, once they land in Barcelona, the ladies check in to their fabulous hotel room and then hang by the pool with Harper’s prospective client, Diego, who flirts with Nikki and invites them to a club.

The interaction between Diego and Nikki is comical as the two essentially promise each other they’ll “hook up” later, in no uncertain, and almost cringingly awkward, terms. If you’ve watched Bayer in any of her other roles, you know she’s perfect for these goofy situations. The ladies are still a long way from Ibiza. 

Once at the club, Harper meets a super cute DJ named Leo (Madden), who invites her backstage. She thinks it’s because he picked her out from the crowd due to a connection, but he’s actually doing her a favor because a partygoer has drawn a giant penis on her face in glow-in-the-dark ink.

While back there, the two actually do form a bond, falling head-over-heels in love at first sight. He promises to see her after the show, and she walks away with stars in her eyes. Yes, we’re still in Barcelona, with no sign of Ibiza in the future. 

What happens next is what takes the rest of this film for a wild ride. The girls head to a house party where Leo is supposed to be, Nikki and Leah are looking forward to lots of drugs and sex, and they certainly get them.

Nikki ends up exercising alone in a home gym, all hopped up on Adderall, and Leah ends up having sex with a married man. Leah finds herself in a unicorn snuggie, and they’re all chased from the house by the angry wife. Yes. It’s crazy, and it’s still not Ibiza!

GFR SCORE

The ladies get into a cab and find out that Leo will be DJing in Ibiza the next night. There it is! Now, Harper has to decide whether to stay and work (yes, remember, it’s a work trip) or to jet off to Ibiza to see if she can get something going with this hottie from the club.

Of course the three friends declare that YOLO, and they jump on a plane. Madness ensues, which includes a random cab driver, soccer players on a small plane, another club scene, more sex and drugs, and an identity swap. It’s kind of like The Hangover, but for girls — and without Bradley Cooper. 

I liked the movie for what it was. I wish it had been funnier. But the story was fun, the romance was lovely, and the ending wrapped up well. Check it Ibiza out on Netflix when you get the chance.