Club Paradise
| Club Paradise | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Assistant Rachel Friedman |
| Produced by | Michael Shamberg |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | |
| Cinematography | Peter Hannan |
| Editing by | Marion Rothman |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | July 11, 1986 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $21 million |
| Box office | $12,308,521 (domestic) |
Club Paradise is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis starring Robin Williams, Peter O'Toole, and Jimmy Cliff. The film reunites director/co-writer Ramis with most of his SCTV co-stars -- SCTV cast members Andrea Martin, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Joe Flaherty, and Robin Duke play supporting roles in the film, as does co-writer Brian Doyle-Murray, a former SCTV staff writer.
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[edit] Plot details
Jack Moniker (Robin Williams) is a Chicago firefighter who gets injured on the job. Using his disability money, he decides to retire and live the good life in a small Caribbean island named Saint Nicholas. He buys a small amount of property there and lives among other washed-up personalities such as Anthony Cloyden Hayes (Peter O'Toole). Appointed by the British crown as governor of St. Nicholas, Hayes is more concerned with vacationing than governing.
Jack befriends financially troubled reggae musician Ernest Reed (Jimmy Cliff), and they together form "Club Paradise," which they market as a Club Med-style resort. This attracts a handful of tourists, including Barry and Barry (Rick Moranis and Eugene Levy), who are there for the pot and the women. Much of the film involves the tourists' comic misadventures adjusting to island life and the low-rent facilities of Club Paradise.
(Brian Doyle-Murray) plays a key role, as a developer who wants to run Jack and Ernest off their property so he can build a massive high-end casino on the beach. To do that, he uses the help of the local prime minister (Adolph Caesar) and the prime minister's men to cause trouble and get Club Paradise to close "legally." When this doesn't work, the prime minister orders a military takeover of the island. Ernest builds up a resistance force, and St. Nicholas is soon threatened with the possibility of civil war.
[edit] Cast
- Robin Williams .... Jack Moniker
- Peter O'Toole .... Governor Anthony Cloyden Hayes
- Rick Moranis .... Barry Nye
- Jimmy Cliff .... Ernest Reed
- Twiggy .... Phillipa Lloyd
- Adolph Caesar .... Prime Minister Solomon Gundy
- Eugene Levy .... Barry Steinberg
- Joanna Cassidy .... Terry Hamlin
- Andrea Martin .... Linda White
- Brian Doyle-Murray .... Voit Zerbe
- Joe Flaherty .... Pilot
- Steven Kampmann .... Randy White
- Robin Duke .... Mary Lou
- Mary Gross .... Jackie
- Simon Jones ... Toby Prooth
- Louise Bennett ... Portia
- Ansel "Double Barrel" Collins ... Flamboyant (Ernest Reed's band)
- Earl "Chinna" Smith ... Flamboyant (Ernest Reed's band)
- Carey Lowell ... Fashion Model
- Louis Zorich ... Swiss Businessman
- Bruce McGill ... Dave, Jack's fireman buddy
- Anne Ramis, wife of director Harold Ramis ... Travel Agent
[edit] Production
Shooting for Club Paradise took place from April[1] to July 1985.[2] Production company Warner Bros. planned to release it in early 1986,[3] but held it back until July.
During development, Bill Murray turned down the film's lead role; his brother, Brian Doyle-Murray, ended up in the cast instead.[4] British actor John Cleese was also slated to star.[5]
"Ed Roboto" is a pseudonym for Harry Shearer, who was asked to do a rewrite with Tom Leopold. Only two words of what they wrote ended up in the film (the title) and Shearer was "so appalled by the movie" that he removed his name from the credits.[6]
Adolph Caesar died of a heart attack four months before the film's release.[3] It was his last completed role.
Although there is an extended sequence involving Robin Williams' character, in correspondence to the lyrics, "taking off his clothes and living in the jungle", the song Apeman by The Kinks was not included on the official soundtrack.
[edit] Reception
The film was given mostly negative reviews from critics with Rotten Tomatoes maintaing Club Paradise an 8% rating. Peter O'Toole's performance in the film earned him a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actor.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Maples, Tina (April 5, 1985). "Offstage: Tropical capers". The Milwaukee Journal (Journal Communications): p. 3 (Accent; Weekend). http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZGgaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RioEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5738,3921333&dq=club-paradise&hl=en. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
- ^ Associated Press (AP) (July 18, 1986). "Harold Ramis Directs Robin Williams". The Mount Airy News TV Plus: p. 8. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wIg_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=8VQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5995,6472074&hl=en. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
- ^ a b Associated Press (AP) (March 8, 1986). "Death ends late-blooming career of 'Purple' actor Caesar". Wilmington Morning Star (The New York Times Company): p. 1D. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-ElOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EhQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1698,2030043&hl=en. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
- ^ Pollock, Dale (October 23, 1984). "Bill Murray had reluctant backing for 'Razor's Edge'". Anchorage Daily News. Los Angeles Times 39 (297): p. D-6. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VJIpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZcAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1344,4117343&dq=club-paradise+bill+murray&hl=en. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
- ^ Sun wire reports (September 28, 1984). "Actor cleaning up his act". Gainesville Sun: p. 2A. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RLQRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uOkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5542,4241458&dq=club-paradise+cleese&hl=en. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
- ^ Gurwitch, Annabelle (2006). Fired!: Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized, and Dismissed. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 65. ISBN 0-7432-9760-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=egvbc_I7nNUC&pg=PA65&vq=Tom+Leopold&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0J. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Club Paradise |
- Club Paradise at the Internet Movie Database
- Club Paradise at AllRovi
- Club Paradise at Rotten Tomatoes
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