The second feature to be both written and directed by George Gallo (and I think we can agree that he has generally done better work on films that have hired him only for screenplay duties), Trapped In Paradise is an enjoyable and cute crime comedy that is constantly almost unbalanced every time Dana Carvey is onscreen. Put anyone else in that role, or at least stop Carvey from doing a Mickey Rourke impression for most of the runtime, and you have a much better movie.
It’s all about three brothers. Nicolas Cage plays Bill Firpo, the only one of the three to stay on the straight and narrow, Jon Lovitz is Dave, a wily man who rarely tells the truth about anything, and Carvey is the kleptomaniac Alvin. All three brothers end up in the small town of Paradise, Pennsylvania, just in time to see the small-town bank stuffed with an enormous sum of money. It seems like a great time to rob the place, which is what they do. But, as has happened in many other movies before this one, the robbery proves to be a lot easier than getting away with the loot.
There’s a good movie here, one that is enjoyable enough to survive the antics of Carvey, but it’s also something that could have been much better. In fact, do we even need all three brothers? I would suggest that we don’t, and some minor tweaking of the script could have easily turned this into a low-key little gem. Some people do view it that way already, but it’s easy to see why most have forgotten it exists.
Gallo does a good job when it comes to setting up the well-populated cast of characters and various plot strands. There are family connections to establish, law enforcement looking to tighten a net, town residents being sweet and lovely, and other criminals, or wannabe criminals, who help to show just how good (deep down) our leads are. It helps that the screen is filled with so many people who are far less irritating than Carvey.
Donald Moffat and Angela Paton have main roles, and embody the good nature of the town, Florence Stanley is a tough and loving Ma Firpo, Mädchen Amick is a very believable potential romantic complication, and both John Ashton and Richard Jenkins portray two people approaching the situation from very different angles. Aside from some believable heavies, the hardened criminals who see the robbery and know someone has used information gained while alongside them in prison, that leaves our leads. Cage is a good mix of good behaviour and, well, Nicolas Cage, and Lovitz is amusing enough, if not best-served by a script that doesn’t make the best use of him. I think I have already mentioned Carvey enough. Maybe technology is available now that makes it much easier to replace him with someone less annoying. Like Carrot Top.
Enjoyable enough, and with the right amount of sweetness and hope that you want from any Christmas movie, Trapped In Paradise is one I would tentatively recommend to those who can overlook the one major problem it has. Although nothing really stands out, with regards to the visuals or score, it’s a generally solid piece of work that allows a few of the supporting players to shine whenever the focus turns to them.
7/10
If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do
consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A
subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share
