Club Paradise (1986)

CLUB PARADISE, while having a promising premise, is a largely disappointing misfire. Even Robin Williams seems to be a bit bored, and is clearly not at his best here. Granted, there is a great ensemble cast, but none of them are given a whole lot to do and, save Robin Williams, are underdeveloped. Still, I'll give credit where credit is due. The film does start off rather well, with Robin Williams' character Jack Moniker retiring from the Chicago Fire Department on a disability settlement and heading off to St. Nicholas, a tropical island. There, he settles in and gets involved with a local businessman/musician named Ernest Reed (Jimmy Cliff, who gives some excellent musical performances) who runs a resort called Club Paradise.These initial scenes were quite funny as they showed Jack getting used to his surroundings and later, dealing with the tourists who visit the island. Among those visitors are Eugene Levy and Rick Moranis, two losers who are trying to score with women and get high. These two comedians have been good elsewhere, but here their talents were wasted on one-dimensional characters that really weren't that funny. Well-meaning, maybe, but not funny.To add some conflict, the prime minister of the island is trying to drive Ernest out so that foreign investors can develop the land. In my opinion, the film really didn't need this as the cast was already large enough that they could have focused on something else besides island politics. Also in the mix is Peter O'Toole as the local British governor. Even though his role wasn't too substantial, I did like him in the several scenes he was in. He and Robin Williams even get to play off each other a little bit.However, if there's one major flaw in the movie it's that it tries to do too much in its finale. Instead of wrapping up the various subplots that were percolating over the run time, they opt instead for something more ridiculous, i.e., a "revolution." By doing that, they really gave short shrift to the great cast of characters they had been following previously. The film's humor was also rather dated, but I can live with that. On the good side of things, the best element outside of Robin Williams and Peter O'Toole was the music, consisting almost exclusively of reggae. Overall, while the film is a nice 80's time capsule it's quite forgettable and I wouldn't consider it essential viewing for Robin Williams fans.

Injured while risking his life to save a German shepherd, Firefighter Jack Moniker retires and moves to a small Caribbean island named St. Nicholas. There, he is befriended by the owner of a run-down resort, Ernest Reed. Greedy developers are scheming to wrest Reed's coveted beach front property from him for non- payment of taxes. Jack comes to Ernest's rescue, and together they renovate and reopen the resort catering to affluent Americans.......Here's another movie that should have killed it at the box office. Williams was just about a huge star, Ramis was a competent film maker, and it was part of that weird sub genre that had comedians trying to save a hotel or shack against property developers, like Summer Rental, or that one where Demi Moore had dreadlocks.But once you watch the movie, its easy to see why this hasn't been shown much since its release, despite the fact that it's entirely watchable, its inconsistent, and it doesn't know what to do with its final act.Williams is as good as ever, he always was a remarkable screen presence, and the support is good too, especially Levy, Moranis, and O'Toole.But then the film has Twiggy, the model, and Jimmy Cliff, the singer. Both cannot really act and bring the film to a stand still.The final third feels rushed and out of place in a comedy, featuring gun toting soldiers trying to get Williams and Cliff, it's almost as if Ramis didn't know how to end this, so he just put a little bit of action, and a speech come the end.But it's not a bad movie by any means, it's just a good story has been handled hastily, and this is the outcome.Worth seeing if your a Williams fan.

I used to like Robin Williams. As time has gone on I've come to realize that perhaps I don't very much. When he's funny, he's hilarious. When he isn't. . . it's embarrassing. And CLUB PARADISE is one of the worst films he's made, which is saying something. It's hard to imagine that something so bad could have been directed by Harold Ramis (usually a rather reliable director/writer).The cast all look awkward and the jokes are forced and unfunny. I think CLUB PARADISE is probably one of the only comedies I can think of that doesn't even really entertain on some sort of level. No, it's not totally awful, but it's not amusing which is a huge flaw for any "comedy." 1.5/5 stars

You'll either fall in love with this film or you won't.The story of an injured fireman who goes to the tropics and becomes involved with a hotel, Twiggy and local politics is a film played strictly for laughs. The humor is very broad and often not very clever but if you can go with its good natured attitude you'll have a good time.The cast of Robin Williams, Jimmy Cliff, Twiggy and several escapees from SCTV is up to the task of being Silly. Peter O'Toole is even better than the rest as the world weary British Envoy to the island who wants nothing more than to be allowed to drink.For me this film is a perfect ten on the enjoyment scale. For everyone else I think you'll find it around a seven or eight.