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Paradise Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 9 Reviews)

Great movie! FULL SKULL BABY!

someone reviewed this movie and said that it didn't flow well. Well I disagree. This movie is about life in a small town which is different from big budget movies about living in places like Los Angeles. I relate to this movie as well and it has a great love story. Nobody wants to see a boring story about things that always go right. BOOOOOORING! when you live in a small town and you're a young kid, your main concern is finding things to do. You don't always find the most POLITICALLY CORRECT things to do, you do whatever is fun. Whether it be getting into some trouble, or rebelling or whatever. I can relate to peeping on people, and just wanting to be out of the house all summer long. Maybe that's why I like this movie so much. I live in Northern Ontario on the border of Ontario and Michigan, and I heard somewhere that this movie was filmed in Paradise, Michigan. Don Johnson's character even talks about meeting his wife in Brimley, which is in Michigan and I've been there. It's a pretty nice place. I find that when you can relate to a movie, or have been to the city that it's filmed in, it makes it a lot more fun to watch.

I give the movie a 5, I'd give it more if I could. There's nothing boring about this movie. Not even for a millisecond.

This movie has it all FULL SKULL BABY!

Great acting, story, and scenery. This has to be one of the most overlooked movies in history. I owned it originally on Laserdisc and was hoping for an eventual release on DVD. I imagine the popularity of Elijah Wood has a lot to do with this.

As previously stated, the cinematography in this movie is outstanding. The acting by both, and very young, Thora Birch and Elija Wood is incredible. Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith also give high caliber performances and the chemistry between them is superb. I can't say enough about the acting as the supporting cast is also very good. Why there were no academy award nominations for this movie is a mystery to me. It most likely has to do with the lack of respect for Don Johnson's acting ability and the fact that he is not on the A list.

The story is also well written and quickly drags you in.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and on my 10 best list.

Great acting and nice scenery, but.... FULL SKULL BABY!

Having recently become a Don Johnson fan after seeing his marvelous performances in the "Miami Vice" tv series, I was very much interested in seeing him in other roles besides the never-to-be-forgotten 'Sonny' Crockett. Unfortunately, "Paradise" was a disappointment after my excitement to see Johnson and his wife at the time, Melanie Griffith, star together in what was supposed to be a 'family' movie.

Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith play Lily and Ben Reed, a couple torn apart after a terrible tragedy. Their love and affection for each other has died out and they live day by day hardly speaking to each other, hardly acknowledging the other's existence. That is, until a good friend's son, Willard Young (Elijah Wood), arrives in town as their summer guest. Will the Reeds finally rekindle their lost love for each other, and will young Willard, with the help of a country girl, Billie Pike (Thora Birch), learn to not be afraid?

The acting was well done and I have no qualms with any of the actors. Johnson and Griffith, by then seasoned veterans of the trade, play their roles with lots of heart and it's easy to feel for each of their characters as they strive to grasp some sort balance in their tumultuous lives. As for the younger stars, Elijah Wood and Thora Birch are also quite good for their ages. There are some awkward moments where though they are trying very hard to capture some dramatic moments, their inexperienced youth comes in the way at times. On the overall, it might be said that Birch may have been the better actress (both youths receiving 'Young Artist Award Nominations', though Birch is the only one who takes home the award for 'Best Young Actress').

I think my main problem with "Paradise" is with how the plot is presented. The plot is fairly good except that it is stretched too thin so that you really can't put your finger on what the message is. And when a good plot is stretched thin, too often do directors put 'unnecessary' subplots throughout the movie. But instead of doing it to make the movie flow better, the subplots in "Paradise" seem to burden the film with tediousness.

Not only are some of scenes out of place, they are sometimes 'cringe-worthy'. To give an example, the director wished to show a sense of every day life of the people in town. Often at times, Willard and Billie are left to their own devices to find their own amusement. And their 'amusement' consists of stealing a boat, doing dangerous stunts, and being 'peeping Toms', spying on Billie's sister and her boyfriend. Their spying on Billie's sister and her boyfriend at an 'intimate' moment was the most disturbing and disgusting. I found it totally unnecessary and made me wonder what kind of a director could ask a young actor and actress to participate in that kind of scene?

As mentioned in the above, this is NOT a family movie contrary to what some reviewers have mentioned. Besides some disturbing scenes with Billie's sister, there is also some profanity. And on the whole, the story deals with mature themes.

If taken in the right direction, "Paradise" may have been a good movie. Parents would have enjoyed watching the Reeds fix their broken relationship while kids might have been able to relate to Willard's struggles with the different kinds of fears he must face. But unfortunately, "Paradise" doesn't put too much focus on fantastic Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith while Willard's part in the movie wasn't quite uplifting or interesting. The story also ends somewhat disappointingly. There is just a hint of the 'hope' of what's to come for the characters and then immediately cuts to the closing credits. In my opinion, I would rather have seen how that summer changed their lives for the better and witnessed that change.

All-in-all, "Paradise" was never a big hit for a reason so if you're looking for a good drama to watch with the family, I recommend these films instead:
"Mr. Holland"s Opus" - Starring Richard Dreyfuss, this is a great film about the life a music teacher and how he touched the lives of many.
"October Sky" -An extremely uplifting movie about how a group of boys strived to fulfill their dreams. (Some strong language so maybe to be watched with older kids.)

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