Fool’s Paradise
I was super excited to see the directorial debut of Charlie Day. From Always Sunny in Philadelphia to Horrible Bosses and everything in between, I’m a big fan of his work. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to push back against the Rotten Tomatoes score that currently sits under 20%, or the couple who left my theater well before the movie ended. Nevertheless, there were some positives. Let’s talk about what worked and what didn’t work in Fool’s Paradise.
The first thing I thought of when watching Fool’s Paradise was an old, mostly silent, French comedy that I saw my senior year of high school. A quick Google confirmed that the film I remembered was Mon Oncle, directed by and starring Jacques Tati. Tati’s character Monsieur Hulot appeared in a few different projects, most famously in a movie called Playtime. I have a good feeling that Charlie Day knows his film history, because Fool’s Paradise has multiple references to Tati’s work – Latte Pronto (the main character) wears a similar hat to Hulot, Jason Sudeikis’ character shouted nothing but “playtime” for about five minutes, and the best scene from Mon Oncle was echoed almost shot-for-shot in Fool’s Paradise, when Pronto had a mix up with rubber and glass objects.
If the goal of this movie was to make a modern-day version of Mon Oncle or Playtime, I think it was somewhat successful. The uncommon story beats, the satire of a big industry, and a main character caught up in a world way over his head– these goals (with the exception of the Hollywood satire, which fell a little flat) were all executed well. Not to mention Charlie Day’s superb acting.
Unfortunately, there seemed to be another story butting heads with Pronto’s. Alongside the physical Charlie Chaplin-style comedy were an odd assortment of slightly forced emotional beats. Ken Jeong did his best, but truly moving conversations and dialogues aren’t one-sided. The unrealistic, dreamscape fiction that allows the audience to enjoy Pronto’s character makes it difficult to believe in, support, or empathize with Jeong’s.
I’m not sure why this second plot was included. I guess there is a good reason movies like Mon Oncle aren’t common anymore (go watch the film, and although you may appreciate its artistry, I think you’ll understand why it’s a style you don’t see in modern cinemas). Maybe the filmmakers knew this, and believed going all-in would be too risky? Maybe they couldn’t get the proper support from studios? Neither are good answers.
After the movie was over, I listened to the episode of the Always Sunny podcast in which Day, Glenn Howerton, and Rob McElhenney discuss Fool’s Paradise. Among other topics, they highlighted two standout parts of the film– first of which was Howerton’s quick scene as the business manager. Although they were few and far between, scenes like his were legitimately funny. In addition to Howerton, I’d point to Ray Liotta, Adrien Brody, the Jasons Sudeikis and Bateman, and Jillian Bell as stand-out performers from this star-studded cast. Their characters did their own thing, regardless of Pronto and his silence. In those moments, the audience became one with Pronto– watching and obersving with confusion as ridiculous people did ridiculous things. Unfortunately, these made up a small percentage of the film. Most of the oddball characters projected a singular note of vanity and selfishness, attempting to use Latte Pronto in the same, predictable ways. The act got a little tiresome.
The second thing the podcast highlighted was the score. I’d agree with the Always Sunny crew that Fool’s Paradise has a genuinely great score. Like the setting, it felt timeless in the best possible way. Always important to appreciate a good score.
That’s really all I have to say, because reviews like this are hard to write. The filmmaker in me sees the effort and the intention and the creativity and wants nothing more than to celebrate the final product. Fool’s Paradise, however, ended up more fool than paradise.
