Club Paradise

Ramis has exceptional talent. The eclectic selection of humorous scenes is well woven.

O'Toole lends a great deal of sophistication to the film. His thought provoking words on government and island life stirred my imagination.

Williams seems to have been at his comical best early in his career.

Moranis proves himself to be a true oddball.

Certainly, this is a picture you should not miss seeing.

Before Robin Williams solidly established himself as a star in "Good Morning, Vietnam", he starred in several innocuously silly movies such as "Club Paradise". He plays Jack Moniker, a Chicago firefighter who retires and moves to the Caribbean island of St. Nicholas. There, he joins up with tour guide Ernest Reed (Jimmy Cliff) and the two of them open a wild business, with the help of Gov. Anthony Cloyden Hayes (Peter O'Toole). Once the rich American tourists start arriving, the high finks take off.

The movie is mostly an excuse for a bunch of goofy things to happen, especially when the characters played by Eugene Levy and Rick Moranis embarrass themselves. True, Williams did better with some of his later work, but "Club Paradise" is still pretty funny.

Despite the presence of possibly the (collectively) funniest cast in the history of film, "Club Paradise" is only sporadically amusing. The weakness lies in the story (or lack thereof). The most effective moments are set pieces which have little to do with the main story, but are hilarious little character moments. Robin Williams heads a cast which includes Peter O'Toole and Jimmy Cliff. Second City and SCTV vet Harold Ramis directs a script by he and fellow Second City & SNL alum Brian Doyle-Murray (who also plays one of the villains of the piece), and fills it with a ton of other Second City vets including Joe Flaherty, Steven Kampmann, Robin Duke, Mary Gross, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, and Rick Moranis. Great reggae soundtrack, though!

Many comedies require their own set of rating considerations. Club Paradise is one of those. This slips into the "guilty of mindless fun" category. The movie does not stand on a strong story. The charm is in its Carribbean setting, the mostly reggae soundtrack, Jimmy Cliff's character and Robin Williams' character--while we're at it throw Peter O'toole in their too. Charm, charm, charm. The writing is borderline offensive, that is, if you watch the film with a highly critical mind. One might complain that dangerously negative stereotypes abound in this film. Maybe they do. My suggestion is to enjoy the popcorn and let the laughter roll. You can feel guilty later. Fun stuff.

This is a very enjoyable film, even if it doesn't always deliver the gut-laughs that you might expect. While I can only give it a six or a seven, I always think of it with a smile; it's definitely just as funny or funnier than the average comedy coming out today.

Part of my affinity for this movie is the cast. Robin Williams, as you would only expect, is his manic self here, a fish-out-of-water ex-Chicago fireman, struggling to open a low rent tourist resort in a banana republic. He's got some funny bits, and his throwaway ad lib's are better than most other actors' scripted lines.

The real bonus, though, is the rest of the cast. Jimmy Cliff, the original reggae superstar, stars as Williams'musician business partner (how's _that_ for authenticity?). Peter O'Toole swills drinks and purses his lips around his extra long cigarette holder,while spitting out his cynical, glib observations regarding the tropical paradise/hellhole.

But some of the funniest moments here are provided by several veterans of SCTV. Andrea Martin plays a pampered wife, most definitely out of her element in Williams' accomodations, while Rick Moranis and Eugene Levy are hilarious playing two slaughterhouse workers trying to score, in more ways than one. Some of the drug humor connected with their characters is every bit as funny as anything Cheech & Chong attempted.

Additionally, Brian Doyle-Murray, Twiggy, and Adolph Caesar round out a very busy cast. The story moves along quickly, the music is great, and the whole thing makes a great accompaniment for your favorite bag of microwave popcorn.

6-7 stars.