This movie isn't a total waste of time. The overall idea is appealing and actually quite well executed, but in the specifics it becomes almost unbearable unimaginative. Nicolas Cage and Jon Lovitz do their characters well, even if very predictably, but they do them as if they weren't even filming the scenes together. There is no rapport whatsoever, and the poor selection of shots just makes it worse. The characterization of Paradise, the police, and just about everyone else suffers the same fate. Dana Carvey singlehandedly saves several scenes, yet he spends most of the movie doing an annoying and completely useless imitation of Mickey Rourke playing the town idiot. With the exception of a few of the minor players (particularly Florence Stanley as Ma Firpo), one has to wonder if anybody in this movie, from director to cast to crew, was actually making any significant effort or just trying to get something into the theaters in time for Christmas.
