Paradise (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Frank Pierson

Writers (WGA):

Norman Steinberg (written by) &
Richard Christian Matheson (written by)

Release Date:

2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Televangelist Bobby Paradise "saw God" in some space debris when he was returning to Earth as an astronaut...

Plot Keywords:

God | Astronaut | Televangelist | Hypocrisy | Tattoo

Cast

David Strathairn	...	Reverend Bobby Paradise
Barbara Hershey	...	Elizabeth Paradise
Kirk Acevedo	...	Manny Marquez
Anita Barone	...	Sammi
Vivienne Benesch	...	Alison Paradise
Patrick Flueger	...	Luke Paradise
James LeGros	...	Matthew Paradise
Kiersten Warren	...	Grace Paradise
Elaine Stritch	...	Isabella
James Gammon	...	Old cowboy
Rick Hoffman	...	Clark Cavanaugh
Shea Whigham	...	Jeremiah Alcott
Richard T. Jones	...	Senator Michael Linney
Haley Fife	...	Susanna
Maxx Payne	...	XL

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief drug use.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Benchwarmers (2006)

Really disappointing piece

When I saw that Frank Pierson (who did an amazing job with "Conspiracy") had done a film with David Strathairn and James LeGros, I was really excited, given that three of my little known favorites had done something together on a subject near and dear to my heart (that'd be the hypocrisy of Christian evangelism). Unfortunately, the immense satirical potential here is absolutely wasted by attempting to make a "Sopranos" or "Six Feet Under" type family drama in a ninety minute time frame. I'll say that Pierson does an amazing job of making the story flow properly between the unnecessarily large cast, but the story fails to make a concrete or even interesting comment about God or religion in America. But it does have a professional boxing subplot.