Fool's Paradise

I've probably watched Always Sunny through 10 times and love satirical film, but the pacing was rough. Movie started out great, and then seemed to drag heavily in the last half. Some of the bits just got old and somethings just got played out. Plus, the film just kind of ended and didn't feel resolved at all.

I really hope we get more like this, but a little more buttoned up on the editing. I realize it's hard to make an entire movie around someone who doesn't speak, but you might need to have people speak to each other more, rather than speaking to a wall the entire time. Charlie day puts his heart and soul into it, plus Jimmi Simpson is always great. It's just a rough viewing experience.

Just a total snooze fest. It's been said in other reviews, and I'm not normally one to pile on, but dead lord... what happened here? I like Charlie Day just fine, the rest of the cast is good, the plot is of course quite dumb which isn't always a bad thing in a comedy such as this one, but it's simply not funny... ever, at all. It's just like the world's worst episode of curb your enthusiasm or something where there's no script at all and we're all expected to find it funny because the actors were funny in other things we've already seen.

I am someone who sticks out bad movies - almost always - but I gave up and stopped watching a little more than halfway through. I just didn't care, wasn't laughing, and had better things to do.

Skip this one.

I saw this because I liked the story, from what I gathered from the trailer. I am also a big fan of Charlie Day. I think the concept is great. A virtual blank slate, adopted by Hollywood, manipulated into benefiting their own needs, and everyone projects their own feelings onto him. I think the execution left quite a bit to be desired though. There was so much more that they could have explored, but it was a bit too silly and nonsensical for its own good. It didn't really go anywhere either. It was more of a "bunch of stuff happens" type of movie, than one with a meaningful narrative. While I wanted to like this, especially considering it's great cast, it fell short of anything exceptionally funny or meaningful. Sorry Charlie.

For reference, I think It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is the funniest show ever made. And I think the character Charlie Kelly played by Charlie Day is one of the funniest characters in TV or movie history. I was ecstatic to see him have a chance to write, direct and star in a theatrically released movie with a great cast.

There's so much about Fool's Paradise I enjoyed. The premise is instantly funny. Charlie Day's performance had me cracking up. Many other parts had me full-volume laughing, especially when it relates to Adrien Brody's character. I loved seeing many of the Always Sunny cast members with random small roles.

There are a few things that, for me, prevent it from being great. The first half of the movie is infinitely funnier than the second half, which had almost no laughs from me. And while I enjoyed the humorous parts, the more serious parts and character moments didn't work for me.

But the biggest issue is that Ken Jeong, who is seemingly the lead of this movie, didn't make me laugh at all. I've found him fairly funny in most of his smaller roles. But it doesn't seem like he can carry a movie.

I still had a good time with Fool's Paradise. I hope it allows Charlie Day more opportunities to create comedy, especially in an age when comedy movies seem to be nearing extinction. I will watch anything he's in. (1 viewing, 5/11/2023)

"Fool's Paradise" tries to be funny and entertaining. It tries. Charlie Day wrote & directed an homage to Buster Keaton and the Peter Sellers film "Being There," but he didn't deliver an entertaining film. It is meant to be a satire of who we make celebrities and how quickly our opinions can change. By the end, though, I just didn't care.

I love Charlie Day and thought he was perfectly cast to be the lead. His eyes portrayed his naivety perfectly, but he lacked the physical comedy and over expression that would have made this more entertaining.

What he needed was help. He needed a partner to help with both writing and directing duties. Someone to say "that's not funny" or "this scene makes no sense and needs a rewrite." I get what he was trying to accomplish and I hope it leads to more attempts by Charlie Day. But I hope the next attempts are better.