Leave it to the award
winning screenwriter of Juno to write a comedy about a burn victim.
Paradise is about Lamb, a highly sheltered young woman who was
raised under strict religious values by her family in small town in
Montana. A traumatic plane crash leaves most of her body severely
burned, she later gets a large settlement of money from suing the
plane manufacturer. The movie begins with lamb announcing that she
will not give any of her new found riches to the church as originally
planned but will go out to Las Vegas and start to enjoy life. When
she arrives at sin city Lamb become friends with a female lounge
singer, (Octavia Spencer) and an amorous British bartender (RussellBrand). Together they help Lamb check off things from her “Bucket
List of Sin” in the city that never sleeps.
I must be clear that I am
a Diablo Cody fan, I have been since the beginning when she wrote her
novel Candy Girl, about her experiences as a stripper. What
makes Paradise unique is that this is the first feature Diablo
Cody wrote and directed. I had to check this movie out and watched
it keeping that in mind. This movie, Paradise was made on a
lower budget then the previous films she wrote. It was shot
digitally, not on film but I feel this did not take anything away
from the story because it was so funny and well written.
The witty dialogue in this
film is what you would expect from Diablo Cody. It is the kind of
humor that makes you laugh and then laugh louder when you think about
it more. This writer's use of voice over is also a strong element.
Cody said that this voice over was an after thought, conceived while
they were editing. This narration helped carry us through the story,
I am glad they added it. By the time I reached the films ending it
was clear that this movie was more than just your run of the mill
comedy. Diablo Cody paid attention to every detail, she foreshadows
things nicely and it shows.
How well did this
accomplished screenwriter do as a director? The movie looked good
and showed off a different side of Las Vegas. The camera movement
was motivated and supported what was going on in the scene, something
first time directors can have trouble with. In a recent KCRW radio
interview Diablo Cody said that being a full time mother and a
director was too much, that she does not want to direct again. She
did a great job. Maybe someday when her kids are older she will
changer her mind and take the director's chair again. If Paradise
is any indication, her fans will still be there. I know I will.
If you like my writing, please check out my suspense novel Box Cutter Killer which is priced to sell for the Kindle and the Nook.
I am also the writer-director of the thriller Cam-Girl which will be released in early 2014.
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