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Cast: Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Octavia Spencer, Nick Offerman, Holly Hunter
After a nearly fatal accident, Lamb Mannerheim realizes that the world is much bigger than her small, God-fearing Montana town. Armed with a fat insurance payout and a checklist of sins, there’s only one place for her first taste of temptation…Las Vegas! With the help of a few new friends this wide-eyed, innocent girl will have to survive the bright lights and seedy bars of “Sin City.”
"Paradise" tells the story of Lamb, a young woman who some how survived a plane crash, she now has a new look on life and religion which her local church doesn't like so she sets off looking to live life in the fast lane. Looking at "Paradise" from the outside there was not much for me to be excited over, I was never a fan of Russell Brand and never considered Julianne Hough to be a great actress but I do like Octavia Spencer and since the film was made by Writer/Director, Diablo Cody I at least had a little hope.
The story is pretty simple and for much of its runtime it doesn't seem to really go anywhere but what I did like about the film was its humor. I found myself laughing out loud several times during the film. I loved the adult humor and the way the characters played off one another as well. Hough and Brand really surprised me, Hough was terrific as the plane crash survivor and for once Brand was not being obnoxious, He was even a little charming if you can believe that.
The film doesn't compare to Cody's "Juno" but I was not expecting it to. In fact I was expecting much less but to my surprise the film was actually better than I expected it to be, it's not a great film but it turned out to be an entertaining watch. The film also sends out some messages regarding love and loss but the fun is it the dialogue and the performances. If you like a good comedy give this one a try, I think you will find it as enjoyable as I did.
Released by Image Entertainment
*** 1/2 Out Of *****