Descente à Paradise

This was a surprisingly funny movie. Having Cage, Lovitz and Carvey in the same movie is hilarious. Carvey has to have the best role as a kleptomaniac. Watching the movie just to see Dana in this role is worth it all by itself. If you liked City Slickers, you would probably like Trapped in Paradise. 8 Stars.

Nicholas Cage, Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey are "Trapped in Paradise" in this 1994 film also starring Madchen Amick, Donald Moffat and Florence Stanley. Cage plays Bill Firpo, a man desperately trying to distance himself from his jailbird brothers Dave and Alvin (Lovitz and Carvey) and take the high road; unfortunately, overcrowding in the prisons causes the boys to be released early. One of them heard a great story in prison about a bank ripe for the picking. It's too good to pass up, so the three head for Paradise, Pennsylvania to rob the bank, only to find that once they have, they can't get out of town due to the overwhelming hospitality of the townspeople.

This film is very funny, and I admit to loving Nicholas Cage in comedy. It always comes from a real place, making the comedy even funnier. His reactions to his brothers are hilarious. As he puts it, "In the Firpo family, the man with half a brain is king." Florence Stanley is a riot as the boys' mother and is given some great lines like, "You guys are dumber than a box of hair." Lovitz and Carvey are goofy; Carvey's Alvin is a kleptomaniac who doesn't seem completely there, and Lovitz' Dave is a conniver with a mind that goes right to criminal intent at all times. The three make quite a trio.

Good fun. It's not War and Peace, its just light entertainment with some good performances, a funny premise, and some great dialogue. For some reason, it's often hard to get all three.

This movie is quite funny, you don't have to be a fan of Dana carvey or anything too. It was a good story and has funny plots throughout the movie as well. The guy who reviewed this before is wrong and is a typical this movie sucks that movie sucks critic. Jon Lovitz, Nicholas Cage, and Dana Carvey, are all hilarious in this flick and also just did a great job acting. These were the good Ole days and not the new days where its just stupid fart humor, and no class with the comedy, just sick and gross things. This had cache and goes down as a very funny movie. Go rent or buy it , its cheap and worth the cash spent. Toodles

This was the funniest movie because I have three older brothers, and I swear that this movie reminded me of them. Simply put, I am befuddled at why everyone says that this is such a boring, dull and drab movie. Do they think the same about ConAir? It had more plot holes than Swiss cheese. Unbelievable. Yet they were both great movies. I also don't get those who say that Thirteen Days was inaccurate. My God, the only thing that the filmmakers didn't have was access to the thoughts of those involved. What more do you want? The thing to remember about films like Trapped and ConAir is that they are fictitious, and the whole point of making movies is to suspend belief and tell a story. It doesn't have to be funny. It doesn't have to sad or make a point or have a morale. It just has to be. This is what separates the boys from the men, and thus separates filmmakers from those with axes to grind and wannabes. You make a film because it means something to you personally, not for commercial value. When people finally figure this out, it will be too late, but at least at that point we will have a better understanding of each other.

Although I haven't seen it in a while, what I remember of Trapped in Paradise was a whole lot of laughs. It's got a great cast, great plot (simple but fun) and a whole lot more. See Trapped in Paradise and I'm sure you'll have a fun time! 3/5 stars--

JOHN ULMER