Return to Paradise (1998)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Joseph Ruben

Writers (WGA):

Pierre Jolivet (motion picture Force Majeure) and
Olivier Schatzky (motion picture Force Majeure) ...

Release Date:

14 August 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Give up three years of their lives or give up the life of their friend. They have eight days to decide.

Plot:

Two friends must choose whether to help a third friend who was arrested in Malaysia for drug possession.

Plot Keywords:

Vacation | New York | Prison | Drugs | Drug Possession

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Vince Vaughn	...	John 'Sheriff' Volgecherev
Anne Heche	...	Beth Eastern
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Lewis McBride
David Conrad	...	Tony Croft
Vera Farmiga	...	Kerrie
Nick Sandow	...	Ravitch
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	M.J. Major
Ming Lee	...	Mr. Chandran
Joel de la Fuente	...	Mr. Doramin
Richard Chang	...	Prosecutor
James Michael McCauley	...	Famous Divorce Lawyer
Brettanya Friese	...	Young Woman in Limo
Deanna Yusoff	...	Woman in Bar
David Zayas	...	Construction Foreman
Amy Wong	...	Ticket Agent (as Amy Wong)

Also Known As:

A Long Way to Paradise (USA) (working title)
All for One (USA) (alternative title)
Force Majeure (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, drug content, some sexuality and a scene of violence.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Eastern State Penitentiary - 2124 Fairmont Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

Cuba Gooding Jr. turned down the role of Tony the architect.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Long opening series of street scenes, local "color", was obviously filmed in Buddhist Thailand, complete with saffron-robed monks and red-green-gold Thai temples - Malaysia (population has 30 % non-Muslim minorities) doesn't have go-go bars or obvious brothels unlike Thailand).

Quotes:

Beth: I'm not the best, but I am the most persistent.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Force majeure (1989)

Soundtrack:

Jing Jing (Firefly)

What Brokedown Palace should have been

Return to Paradise is what Brokedown Palace should have been. Joaquin Phoenix, David Conrad and Vince Vaughn are 3 friends on a 5 week holiday in Penang. Joaquin stays behind and the others come home. Forward 2 years later a young lawyer tracks down the other 2 and they find out that Joaquin's character has been in prison for the past 2 years and they have 8 years to decide whether to take their share of the blame.

Joaquin Phoenix is the heart and soul of this movie. His performance is so poignant and real, he has truly come a long way since the 80s.

Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche are brilliant in their roles especially Anne Heche, she really took her character to another level and it was sometimes heartbreaking as her performance was so real.

This is one movie to check out if you haven't seen it. I did not know about this movie until 2 years ago when I saw it on cable and after just watching Brokedown Palace I was skeptical as it was really bad and I was so surprised when I watched Return to Paradise as it wasn't toned down or glossed over and all the principle actors were fantastic.

If you haven't seen it you certainly don't know what you're missing.