TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

lasttimeisaw What's the odds to watch a relatively unknown Christmas comedy from a director I have never heard of as there are tons of much more appealing options there, yet fate guides me to watch this one, 20 years ago, Nicholas Cage, John Lovitz and Dana Carvey star as three brothers in TRAPPED IN PARADISE, here, Paradise refers to a small town where (almost) everyone is extremely nice and bonhomie and hospitality abound. But Firpo brothers are no law-abiding citizens, Dave (Lovitz) is an inveterate liar and Alvin (Carvey) is a half-wit kleptomaniac, they merely are put on probation for Christmas since the jail-house is fully-packed, Dave tricks Bill (Cage), their youngest brother to escape with them to Paradise under the pretense of looking for a fellow prisoner's daughter Sarah (Amick). When they arrive the town, impossible to resist the temptation, they take advantage of the lousy security measures in the bank, and rob the dead presidents on Christmas Eve. But due to all sorts of accidental mishaps, they end up to stay at the bank manager's home for dinner, affected by a string of generous treatments from the townsfolk, they decide to return the loot, however, Sarah's father is also looking after the money, and holds three brothers' mom as the hostage (a wonderful Florence Stanley with a vicious tongue), meanwhile, Agent Shaddus Peyser (Jenkins) and two police deputies are tailing them as well, but no harm will ensure because it is a perfect whole-family fare for the holiday spirit. Performance wise, Dana Carvey is surprisingly acceptable as a simpleton with a golden heart, many improvised squabbles between Cage and Lovitz are generically funny, although nothing new can be extracted from this touchy-feely concept of a prodigal who returns is more precious than gold, and the laughters are cheap, one merely cannot be cross with its benign and often naive scenario and it is an enjoyable 111 minutes with no harm done, plus if you are hooked by the cast, you might check it out.

cormac_zoso I'm really not sure why people don't find this movie universally hilarious but perhaps i'm just a sucker for a bunch of losers finally coming around to doing the right thing kind of movie. With Nicolas Cage portraying 'the smart and good brother' doing everything he can to keep himself on the straight and narrow and also taking on the older brother mantle of trying to keep his younger brothers recently paroled for overcrowding and released to Cage's custody, the gleefully ne'er-do-well brothers portrayed by Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey, it is Cage's duty to keep these two on the straight and narrow as well. With Carvey's brother a helpless kleptomaniac and Lovitz' brother a semi-smooth talking schmuck who can always talk himself (and occasionally others) into anything ... and so they eventually, with the help of their 'sainted' mother (perfectly portrayed by Florence Stanley), talk Cage into breaking their parole, leaving the state to visit another con's estranged daughter. The purpose of the trip is really to rob a small town bank which, on a particular day, holds a Fort Knox like sum of cash.And so the story is set and while many people might guess the general path the film takes, it is a joyful and hilarious ride through their travails and eventual redemption in a town called Paradise. A tight and smooth-running script keeps the film humming along at a fine pace and ranks among my top ten xmas films ... though of course that might not include the standard films most would include ... i'm also a big fan of 'silent night, deadly night' ... so take it for what it's worth ... but this is still a very funny movie despite many of the negative reviews and the sub 6 star rating.

gestapo81 This the only Christmas movie that i watch constantly year after year.I don't know why the low grade.My guess is that people are not using the film properly,and by "properly" i mean: It's a frickin' Christmas flick,don't watch it in July,or after a hard days work in September or in the spring vacation.I mean,what else do you need?it's got great comedy,romance,family closeness and lots of snow,all set in a very easy going small town with uncomplicated inhabitants...the kind of small town in witch we all dream to live.Jon Lovitz,Dana Carvey and Cage are all playing their natural characters without overacting crap or trying to outshine one another.In my opinion this is a slam-dunk Christmas classic and it's to bad for whoever doesn't put it on it's Holidays playlist.

bonepilot I'm sure "Trapped In Paradise" was MEANT to be a full fledged comedy, and WANTED to have a heart-warming message to it... perhaps even HOPED it would capture the holiday spirit-seeking audiences that paid hard money to see this. But, I'm afraid it failed on all three counts. Not that Nicolas Cage, Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey aren't ordinarily funny, by all means, no. They are wonderful in their own rights.It's just that THIS storyline, script and direction lost its punch very early in the film, and the three main characters simply could not save it. Yes, I laughed out loud several times, and liked the madcap interaction between Cage, Lovitz and Carvey. But I think I could have written a BETTER ending, one befitting that of "The Blues Brothers", or something like it. Perhaps the next time these three guys get together in a comedy, they'll find a better writer and director. Otherwise, they will remain "trapped" in (fill in the blank).