Cloud 9

Over the last ten years, Burt Reynolds has straddled the line between being an A-lister and a B-lister. His best known comeback was in 1997, when he re-emerged into the A-list spotlight with "Boogie Nights". Ten years later, he was still making good movies along the likes of "Mystery, Alaska" and the decent remake of "The Longest Yard". If he keeps doing movies like "Cloud 9", he may have to kiss those A-list parts goodbye again.

The problem with "Cloud 9" is not that Burt Reynolds is bad in it. In fact, the movie starts out really well with Reynolds playing a lovable loser. It's not the first time he plays one of these characters, and he usually plays it very well. It's just that the movie is boggled down with so many sports and rags-to-riches movie clichés that by the end, the movie seems far from original even though the premise is.

The premise is another great thing about this movie, and the movie had the right idea about where to go with it until the very end. The problems occur with the lack of character development. Burt Reynolds' and D.L. Hughley's characters are pretty well developed, but the strippers could have been made into more interesting characters. Instead, they are just one-dimensional stereotypes borrowed from other movies. There's the jive-talking black woman, the blond stripper with a heart of gold, the angry Latino stripper, and the Russian bombshell that no speak English good. Oh yeah, and although Angie Everheart does a better-than-expected acting job in this movie, her character has been done before. If I had a nickel for every movie where there was a smart, single mother who was forced to strip to support their only child, I'd be a millionaire. In fact, wasn't Burt Reynolds himself in a big budget film with one of those characters? The name "Striptease" rings a bell, as does the name "Demi Moore". And as I remember, that movie didn't get stellar reviews either.

Last but not least, Gabrielle Reese could have been utilized better in this movie. Sure, she's a natural fit for playing a professional volleyball athlete, since she is one in real life. But the problem comes when she expresses her objection to strippers playing volleyball, since that would bring the wrong kind of exposure to the sport. Of course she is correct and has a valid point, but the movie unevenly makes her out to be the villain of the story because of that viewpoint. Plus, the guys in the movie make fun of the fact that she's built like an athlete, which doesn't send a good message to young women who see this movie. They appear to completely forget the fact that Gaby Reese is one of the most beautiful women in the world, let alone the most gorgeous athlete. In fact, I found myself rooting for her side at the end of the film, and really not caring either way if the heroines won.

This movie was very promising. In fact, the movie started out great, and even Paul Rodriguez was funny as Juan a.k.a. Wong. However, the really important characters in this story were underdeveloped, and so many movie clichés, tired archetypes, and male posturing made this movie unenjoyable. I reiterate when I say that Burt Reynolds should probably get a new agent, because he has been in and can be in better movies.

A likable conman living in a small trailer on the coast of Malibu (Burt Reynolds) gets the bright idea to form a volleyball team from the exotic dancers who work at a local nightclub called Cloud 9. But what will happen when the girls compete with Olympic level players? D.L. Hughley plays his black "son" and Paul Rodriguez the dubious coach of the team. Meanwhile Angie Everhart and Gabrielle Reece appear as rival players.

"Cloud 9" (2006) is an amusing Southern Cal beach flick featuring volleyball and several good-lookin' ladies. It never set out to be "Gandhi." Yeah, the humor is often eye-rolling or falls flat, but it is a fun flick and there were three times that I laughed out loud. Despite the attractive females and exotic dancer angle, the movie thankfully avoids raunchiness and delivers a good message.

My two favorite females in the cast are Katheryn Winnick as Olga and the curvy brunette who plays with Gabrielle Reece. The other volleyball girls include: Marnette Patterson (Crystal), Patricia De Leon (Corazon) and Kenya Moore (Champagne).

The film runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was shot in Malibu, California.

GRADE: B-/C+

I saw this movie and it was terrible. Not only does it not show any skin from the female volleyball players (which it should) but the acting is horrible. I expected a train wreck with some skin but what I got was a train wreck with no skin. Picture a script from Skinamaxs (Cinemax) which has horrible storyline but with no skin. Burt does a horrible job acting in this film and the girls can't act to save their lives!! Angie Everhart playing an uptight stripper seems kind of crazy to me and Hugley was H O R R I B L E in this film then again he's pretty much horrible in all the movies he's in. My advice , unless u get a free view of this film stay away.

Silly, pointless, and an indication of the depths to which Burt Reynolds' career has sunk.

Avoid.

Do not watch this movie. There are 2 reasons for that:

1. It is so boring that it tops the list of the most boring films ever made. It felt at some points that is is a porno film, but when any girl got half naked the scene ended. The level of the dialogs remain though at the level of porno films.

2. Strippers are couched to be volleyball players. I really feel that it undermines the dedication and the amount of work needed to be a professional athlete.

This is a porn movie with a lame plot that characterizes porn movies in general, but with all the "skin parts" removed. It's a huge waste of time! They should pay me for the time I spent watching this (even so I wouldn't do it again).