Club Paradise (1986)

User Rating:

4.3/10   

Director:

Harold Ramis

Writers:

Brian Doyle-Murray (screenplay)
Tom Leopold (story)

Release Date:

11 July 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The vacation you'll never forget -- no matter how hard you try.

Plot:

Injured while risking his life to save an angry German shepard, Chicago Firefighter Jack Moniker retires...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Beach | Paradise | Firefighter | Retirement

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robin Williams	...	Jack Moniker
Peter O'Toole	...	Governor Anthony Cloyden Hayes
Rick Moranis	...	Barry Nye
Jimmy Cliff	...	Ernest Reed
Twiggy	...	Phillipa Lloyd
Adolph Caesar	...	Prime Minister Solomon Gundy
Eugene Levy	...	Barry Steinberg
Joanna Cassidy	...	Terry Hamlin
Andrea Martin	...	Linda White
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Voit Zerbe
Joe Flaherty	...	Pilot
Steven Kampmann	...	Randy White
Robin Duke	...	Mary Lou
Mary Gross	...	Jackie
Simon Jones	...	Toby Prooth

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-8 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 (f)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Mary Gross' film debut.

Quotes:

Jack Moniker: Tree, what's happenin'?
[Tree offers Jack marijuana]
Jack Moniker: Oooooh, no thanks. Last time I smoked that stuff they found me on top of the Sears tower trying to build a nest.

Movie Connections:

References The Harder They Come (1972)

Soundtrack:

Island In The Sun

Lots of funny bits to make it worth a look

As an SCTV and SNL fan, I have a soft spot for this film, even though it is flawed. But all said, it's not that bad. I saw it at the cinema with a group of friends in '86 when it came out. All of the SCTV fans were in stitches. The majority of the audience however, thought the film was stupid. The SCTV show was a big part of my life as a young teen. It taught me a great deal about humour. I loved the ensemble of talent in that film as the actors all had Second City, or Groundling cred. At the time, it seemed that exceptional sketch-com writers and performers were cursed when they tried to make the transition to motion pictures. The films were never as funny as the television programmes. All the smart got turned into screw-ball for some reason.

The premise of "Club Paradise" and Robin Williams in the lead, straight away indicates we're in for wackiness. And there are many cheap laughs in this film. But personally I like cheap laughs. I'm so impressed when a comic pulls-off a cheap laugh, especially when you're expecting to see them coming from a mile away. "Club Paradise" is pretty much a lot of comedic vignettes strung together. Many are good. But the story is a little bald. As a writer on SCTV, Harold Ramis was amazing. I've yet however, to see a film he's directed that is a cut above,(although "Groundhog Day" comes close). Watch for Eugene Levy delivering the funniest, sophomoric line in the film.