Fool’s Paradise – Movie Review

Fool’s Paradise is Charlie Day’s directorial debut.

Fools Paradise is a comedic film written, directed, and produced by Charlie Day. He is best known for his role as Charlie Kelly in the long-running sitcom “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” He also voiced Luigi in the Super Mario Bros. Movie. Also starring in this satirical comedy is Ken Jeong, Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, Jason Sudeikis, Edie Falco, Jason Bateman, Common, John Malkovich, and the late Ray Liotta. It will be in theaters on May 12th, 2023.

Synopsis

A down-on-his-luck publicist (Ken Jeong) discovers a recently released mental health patient (Charlie Day) who looks just like a misbehaving movie star. The publicist subs him into a film, creating a new star. But fame and fortune are not all they are cracked up to be.

While watching Fool’s Paradise, I could not help that something seemed familiar about this movie. The 1999 film Bowfinger came to mind. That film also featured the premise of a Hollywood star being replaced by idiots who look alike. That film starred Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy. This film sees Charlie Day playing triple duty as two characters and the film’s director. The highlights of this film are the performances by Day, Jeong, and Liotta. The movie starts strong as we are first introduced to Day’s character. He is a mute released from a psychiatric facility that runs into Liotta, a big-time Hollywood producer who notices that Day looks like a drunken star who refuses to cooperate on a new Billy the Kid movie set.

The movie starts strong as we are introduced to Day’s character, a mute released from a psychiatric facility that runs into Liotta, a big-time Hollywood producer who notices he looks like a drunken star that refuses to cooperate and is also played by Day and ends up with the name Latte Pronto. Jeong, who plays a publicist who is desperate for a new client, stumbles upon Pronto, and the two of them ride the wave of fame and fortune. But, despite the great chemistry between Jeon and Day, the film begins to unravel. The film relies on too many cameos and flat humor presented in disconnected scenes. It becomes painful to watch as the attempted laughs fall short.

Verdict

I give Fools Paradise 2.5 out of 5 stars. Charlie Day does make a decent directorial debut, and his Chaplin-esque performance is captivating. However, you might start to yawn after the first 30 minutes. Read more Reviews on Nerdtropolis and Subscribe to our YouTube.