I absolutely adore this movie. This movie was not made to dazzle people or make them stand back and go "wow that was an awesome scene." Trapped in Paradise is about the healing powers of a small town at Christmas. If you've ever live in a small town, or even visited one, you could relate to this movie. To me, this is more of a feel good comedy than anything. It might not hit a lot of top ten lists because its not flashy and it doesn't have a huge trailer, but its a good movie to sit down and laugh to and make you feel good about the human race once again. Nicholas Cage, John Lovitt, and Dana Carvey's characters are believable, even if they are not dynamic. I highly recommend this movie for anyone, from the young to the young at heart.
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lovintennis11 August 2017What's not to like about this one? It's hilarious! I know he's not the best actor, but this is one of Nicolas Cage's best movies (certainly as far as COMEDY goes, at least). It causes me genuine laughter all the way through. It doesn't contain any corny or dull jokes--quality humor. This is a favorite in my book.
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bobc-525 December 1999This 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.
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What we have here is an experiment in no writing, no directing, just gathering some actors together and turning them loose. Many of these have been funny in skits, and each was encouraged to develop their own comic persona. But since these are not very clever comics, we have copies of Harpo, Jonathon Winters, Laurel and Hardy, Lucy and so on. There's nothing original or entertaining here except to watch how strong is the magnetism of the past masters.
Watching Cage flounder is also interesting since there are some who celebrate his talent. I'm coming more and more to appreciate how many different types of actors there are and how widely they differ. Cage as a person always sits nervously in his character. This is no problem if he is cast as a person who sits nervously in himself, and of course this is how he is typed. Sometimes it works, for instance with DePalma's experimental `Snake Eyes,' the disembodied EMT of `Bring out the Dead,' and the pretty sensitive `Raising Arizona.' But when it fails, it fails spectacularly with Cage staring goofily as in that lottery movie, or with shouting as here. Spectacular. -
peterdhurd18 December 2018Comedies like this predictable Christmas movie are often overlooked or passed over. Watch it and see if you don't disagree. I loved it as my kids did also. I look for it as the holidays give us a excuse to gather and laugh. The Three Stooges never had it so good.. Enjoy!
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young-judith14 March 2006It was a good mixture of some action and comedy. There was a couple of spots I did not care for personally. Here I do not want to give out any information that would give anything away. Just some short scenes, that did not like. Overall it was good. I would recommend it to most anyone. It would be a very good show for the television stations to air at Christmas time. I happen to like Nicolas Cage as an actor. I watched it a few years ago. Now I own it and am going to enjoy my re-runs of it in the future. Watching the interactions of the three characters Cage, Lovitz, and Carvey was interesting. The turn of events were sometimes surprising and sometimes could be guessed. I did find the comment about where and how Tripod came to be in the movie interesting.
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nafps17 December 2021The laziest kind of alleged comedy from this time, when bored teenagers would laugh any time someone cursed because they thought it was "daring" and "edgy."
Carvey and Lovitz spend their time thinking a goofy laugh is somehow a substitute for actually being funny. Not a single joke from them the entire time.
Cage simply looks constipated when he's supposed to be exasperated.
The script writer should be slapped by anyone who sat through it.
Bombed when it came out, critically panned. The ones rating it highly must be high on something themselves.
One of the worst films ever made and a career low for all involved.
ETA: I'm glad of the strong reactions to my review, both the downvotes and the higher than I expected number of up votes. Good to know some others feel the same. -
mony198123 September 2002NOT! All these so called critics who are just your classical low-self esteem nerds from high school who watch way too many movies and take life way too seriously are just WRONG. This movie is great, I went to college in a small town and I know most people out there don't think places like "paradise" still exist, but they do. Movies about Christmas should be somewhat "cheesy" thats what Christmas is all about. Its the one time of the year when grown people remember what it was like to be a kid.
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ccthemovieman-115 June 2007I liked the cast with three very diverse lead characters played by macho Nicholas Cage, fatso Jon Lovitz and wimpy Dana Carvey. Two of the three actors did good jobs playing their guys, too. Unfortunately, the big star - Cage ("Bill Firpo") - gave a bad and abrasively loud performance. If you would have asked me in advance to pick one of the three who might bomb, I wouldn't have selected him.
Lovitz, as "Dave Firpo," had the best lines in the film. As "Alvin Firpo," Carvey's kleptomania problems were funny at first but grew tiresome fairly fast.
Sadly, the story wasn't that good, either, although it should have been. This premise about crooks being unable to get out of town due to various weird situations, in here it's mainly a snowstorm.
If you want a better movie about being trapped somewhere and trying to escape with the loot, watch Bill Murray, Geena Davis and Randy Quaid in "Quick Change." That's a heckuva lot funnier film. -
garyvanb17 November 2018This is a charming little caper movie with quite a bit of slapstick and heart, and would be near-nigh perfect if it weren't for one annoying thing! Now I liked Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live. He was one of the highlights of the show from '86 to '93, with memorable characters like The Church Lady, Hans of Hans and Franz, George Bush, Ross Perot, John McLaughlin and many others, not the least of which was Garth from the Wayne's World sketches with Mike Myers they turned into a successful couple of funny movies. But that's it. Check out just about any other Dana Carvey movie, such as the wretched Master of Disguise, and you'll find somebody who overacts with silly, unreal voices. And yes, he almost ruins this movie. Playing dumb correctly is actually an art form that takes skill. Richard Ayoade does it to perfection in The IT Crowd as Moss, Fred Ewanuick did it in Canada's Corner Gas, Bob Denver did it as Gilligan. But Carvey flat out fails here, and brings the movie down. If I were Nicolas Cage, the first time I heard that silly voice coming out of Carvey, I would have done one of those buggy eyed freak outs that Simon Helberg of Big Bang Theory parodies so well, and would have said, "What...the hell...is THAT! What are you doin' bro? Stop it!"
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George Gallo wrote and directed this ridiculous, braying, foul-mouthed comedy (with a Christmas theme!) about three brothers who rob a bank in Paradise--a quaint, sweet-natured Pennsylvania town--and come to regret their actions; meanwhile, two slow-witted deputies are on their trail. The bad East Coast accents aside, you know you're in trouble when Nicolas Cage is portraying the 'sane' sibling (he gives a most disconcerting, let-me-outta-here performance). Lame in the extreme, the picture is only saved by a solid supporting cast doing their best to keep the material afloat. As Cage's brothers-in-crime, Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey are a nightmarish twosome. 'Trapped' is right. * from ****
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nsotrcc2 July 2003This film is hilarious. I can't believe it has been rated so low. I could submit at least a dozen memorable quotes and I haven't seen this movie in two years. I distinctly remember having to rewind a scene because we were laughing so hard we missed some dialog... if you ever get the chance, go see this movie!! Nicolas Cage is a riot!
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gavin69428 December 2014At Christmas time, Bill Firpo (Nicolas Cage), a straight-laced New York restaurant manager, gets an unpleasant Christmas gift. His brothers Dave (Jon Lovitz) and Alvin (Dana Carvey) are paroled early due to overcrowding and placed in Bill's custody.
This film has a bad reputation. Maybe it deserves it. Jon Lovitz has claimed the cast hated making the picture, and the director (George Gallo) was so inept that Nicolas Cage had to step in for much of the picture. There is also the annoying voice Dana Carvey chose to use.
Perhaps the biggest misstep is the romance angle. As wonderful as Madchen Amick is, and as great as it is to see her in more things, there was no reason to make her the film's romantic interest. This is a comedy, and hey feel the need to throw in a forced union between a bank robber and mobster's daughter who barely even meet? The general zany comedy is good, though, and one suspects if the script had been handled a little differently, a few things tweaked, this might have been a real winner. -
SnoopyStyle22 September 2014Bill Firpo (Nicolas Cage) tries to keep honest. However his brothers Dave (Jon Lovitz) and kleptomaniac Alvin (Dana Carvey) get early parole due to overcrowding. Bill is pulled back in as they go to Paradise, Pennsylvania to find Sarah based on another inmate's story. They find the small local bank so lax in security that they have to rob it. They have to get the keys to the vault from bank president Clifford Anderson (Donald Moffat). On the way out, they crash their getaway car. They are rescued and brought to the Andersons and their upstairs renter bank worker Sarah Collins (Mädchen Amick). None of them recognize that the brothers are the robbers. The criminal who had the original idea to rob the bank finds out. The FBI led by agent Shaddus Peyser (Richard Jenkins) are also looking for them. They keep failing to get away while the people in town are all so very nice.
Dana Carvey has that annoying voice and face. He is stupid in a hateful way. Jon Lovitz is slightly better by comparison. Nicolas Cage is angry and with good reasons. The three brother are so annoying that there are unlikeable. They are unfunny. And the jokes fall flat. The big chase isn't anything fun. It is generally boring and most of the blame has to be laid at writer/director George Gallo's feet. -
MovieAddict20161 September 2002Although I haven't seen it in a while, what I remember of Trapped in Paradise was a whole lot of laughs. It's got a great cast, great plot (simple but fun) and a whole lot more. See Trapped in Paradise and I'm sure you'll have a fun time! 3/5 stars--
JOHN ULMER -
Trapped in Paradise (1994) is a movie that I recently watched for the first time in a long time on Tubi. The storyline follows two brothers that were recently released from jail and have plans to conduct a heist in a small Pennsylvania town. They fool their brother into helping them which puts their mother and bother's lives at risk. The brothers have no choice but to go through with it. When a snowstorm hits the night of the heist they get caught in the town and need to try and fit in until they can escape.
This movie is directed by George Gallo (Vanquish) and stars Nicolas Cage (8MM), Jon Lovitz (The Benchwarmers), Dana Carvey (Wayne's World), Paul Lazar (The Silence of the Lambs), Richard Jenkins (Step Brothers) and Mädchen Amick (Twin Peaks).
The settings, cast and atmosphere were all perfect for this plot. The small town was perfectly depicted and the chemistry between the cast members was excellent. Cage, Lovitz and Carvey were hilarious and played off each other perfectly. The klepto scenes were hilarious and the brothers taking shots at each other were fun. The storyline is well paced and have entertaining scenarios and the ending is straightforward but worthwhile.
Overall, this movie isn't a holiday classic, but it is a fun watch. I would score this a 7/10 and strongly recommend it. -
The-Sarkologist25 December 2013Well, I thought that the reviewers trashed this movie more than it really deserves. It wasn't the best of movies, but I did find that parts of it were funny. This movie is about two brothers who trick the third to go to a small town and rob a bank that is really easy to rob. Unfortunately they cannot get out of the town and end up giving all of the money back because they see the hearts behind the people.
As I said, the movie isn't that great, but I do think that some people really watch too many movies and be a bit too critical about them. If one just relaxes, one can see the stupidity of this film. The whole comic concept is not watching police cars get smashed up, but rather watching a criminal walk across the road with the bank manager's wife, and then bring the entire café back because they can't leave them sitting there. It is just the unbelievable niceness and trust of the town. Unfortunately, later in the film it does start to lag in regards to the laughs, but I still think Dana Carvey's character is pretty cool - and more realistic as a kleptomaniac - so much as there is no order in what he steals, he simply steals because he can. The one character that did irritate me was Lovitt's. -
Absolutely moronic film starring Nicolas Cage, with 2 absolutely stupid brothers who are constantly in trouble with the law and have just been released from prison.
By some fluke of the imagination, Cage becomes involved with the brothers (Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey) in a bank robbery.
The brothers, realizing they have done wrong, try to return the money to the local church.
Some laughs are provided by their mother, played by the late Florence Stanley.
The jokes, for the most part, are as obnoxious as the film itself. The best part is the snowstorm that the town of Paradise, Pa. undergoes during this film.
There are the usual chase scenes with the bad guys and the police, unfortunately, are made to look very foolish here.
Actually, this film is really from Hades. Should be avoided at all cost. -
lasttimeisaw15 May 2014What's the odds to watch a relatively unknown Christmas comedy from a director I have never heard of as there are tons of much more appealing options there, yet fate guides me to watch this one, 20 years ago, Nicholas Cage, John Lovitz and Dana Carvey star as three brothers in TRAPPED IN PARADISE, here, Paradise refers to a small town where (almost) everyone is extremely nice and bonhomie and hospitality abound.
But Firpo brothers are no law-abiding citizens, Dave (Lovitz) is an inveterate liar and Alvin (Carvey) is a half-wit kleptomaniac, they merely are put on probation for Christmas since the jail-house is fully-packed, Dave tricks Bill (Cage), their youngest brother to escape with them to Paradise under the pretense of looking for a fellow prisoner's daughter Sarah (Amick). When they arrive the town, impossible to resist the temptation, they take advantage of the lousy security measures in the bank, and rob the dead presidents on Christmas Eve.
But due to all sorts of accidental mishaps, they end up to stay at the bank manager's home for dinner, affected by a string of generous treatments from the townsfolk, they decide to return the loot, however, Sarah's father is also looking after the money, and holds three brothers' mom as the hostage (a wonderful Florence Stanley with a vicious tongue), meanwhile, Agent Shaddus Peyser (Jenkins) and two police deputies are tailing them as well, but no harm will ensure because it is a perfect whole-family fare for the holiday spirit.
Performance wise, Dana Carvey is surprisingly acceptable as a simpleton with a golden heart, many improvised squabbles between Cage and Lovitz are generically funny, although nothing new can be extracted from this touchy-feely concept of a prodigal who returns is more precious than gold, and the laughters are cheap, one merely cannot be cross with its benign and often naive scenario and it is an enjoyable 111 minutes with no harm done, plus if you are hooked by the cast, you might check it out. -
teaguemcmartin26 September 2015I remember reading a review once, I believe by Roger Ebert, where he said he knew the picture he was watching was in trouble when the supporting actors thoroughly outshined any of the leads. Such is the case here. The few laughs (more like chuckles actually) I did emit were from lines delivered by Richard Jenkins, a fed chasing the three lead characters, and Florence Stanley, the trio's mother. To be fair, a bad script can make laughs tough to finagle, but it doesn't preclude them entirely. This is where the director is supposed to come in and help create some comedic chemistry. He obviously did not do this. I mean, come on, we have a movie starring H.I. Mcdunnough, Garth Algar, and the critic. Yet only their mother, an actress previously unknown to me, elicited any laughs. Particularly annoying was the voice Carvery chose to do. It wasn't AS obnoxious as Cage in Peggy Sue, but it was close. Honestly, doing his George Bush impression the entire movie would've been funnier and made just about as much sense.
Soft, generalized spoilers - over the course of the night, all three have a life altering epiphany. If that sounds contrived, wait til you see the love story. Comedies don't need to be well written if they make us laugh. Laughing automatically suspends our disbelief. Unfortunately, I had plenty of time to ponder the writing and direction while I was busy not laughing. -
Kamurai259 February 2021Decent watch, could watch again, but can't recommend unless you just want to throw back to the early 90's.
This is a great example of "weird" acting by people you may recognize as great, or at least famous, actors.
Jon Lovitz hasn't changed much, but Dana Carvey certainly plays his role goofy for comedy's sake, but I have no idea what Nicholas Cage is doing in this one.
He starts pretty sane, and then kicks off like he just re-discovered cocaine, and then just when you think he's going to even out, he wildly bounces back and forth between personalities.
The actual over-complicated story of these guys robbing a small town bank and being at the mercy of those they robbed, confronted with the moral implications of their theft versus their own personal adversities is pretty interesting, but the palatable depth of the story is overriden by a lot of comedy, some of which doesn't land, and some of which is weighed down by the situations.
I don't think anyone is going to hate this movie, but there are just so many other things to watch. -
ncurrie4720 December 2007This movie is easily among the ten worst I have ever seen. It has absolutely no redeeming qualities. It's so bad it's past good and back to bad again, only worse. There is no way I can possibly convey in words just how bad this movie is.
Oh, and I can't even begin to imagine what (if anything) goes on in the minds of people who claim to enjoy this movie. It's certainly possible that their brains were completely atrophied in the 111 minutes of their lives they spent in front of this complete waste of celluloid. Such is the potential danger of watching this movie in a state even resembling sobriety (or consciousness for that matter).
This movie is worse than all the worst moments of all the worst Christmas movies strung together. In the name of all that is holy, please do not watch this movie. I've done all I can. If you still insist in watching this steaming pile of, um, really foul stuff, may god have mercy on your soul. -
cormac_zoso17 February 2014I'm really not sure why people don't find this movie universally hilarious but perhaps i'm just a sucker for a bunch of losers finally coming around to doing the right thing kind of movie. With Nicolas Cage portraying 'the smart and good brother' doing everything he can to keep himself on the straight and narrow and also taking on the older brother mantle of trying to keep his younger brothers recently paroled for overcrowding and released to Cage's custody, the gleefully ne'er-do-well brothers portrayed by Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey, it is Cage's duty to keep these two on the straight and narrow as well. With Carvey's brother a helpless kleptomaniac and Lovitz' brother a semi-smooth talking schmuck who can always talk himself (and occasionally others) into anything ... and so they eventually, with the help of their 'sainted' mother (perfectly portrayed by Florence Stanley), talk Cage into breaking their parole, leaving the state to visit another con's estranged daughter. The purpose of the trip is really to rob a small town bank which, on a particular day, holds a Fort Knox like sum of cash.
And so the story is set and while many people might guess the general path the film takes, it is a joyful and hilarious ride through their travails and eventual redemption in a town called Paradise. A tight and smooth-running script keeps the film humming along at a fine pace and ranks among my top ten xmas films ... though of course that might not include the standard films most would include ... i'm also a big fan of 'silent night, deadly night' ... so take it for what it's worth ... but this is still a very funny movie despite many of the negative reviews and the sub 6 star rating. -
I_Ailurophile16 December 2023There was a time in the 90s when, for lack of shows that anyone cared to watch, some cable TV networks steadily played cinematic releases from the late morning through until the early evening. By my recollection it often seemed like it was the same films day after day, week after week, and as a prime example, I couldn't possibly count how many times I saw 'Trapped in Paradise' playing somewhere, at some point, during the day. Saw - but never fully committed to watching. All these years later I felt overdue to watch, and after almost thirty years the question is also raised of how the humor has aged. With esteemed comedic actors Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz on hand, and the additional star power of Nicolas Cage, among others, one may reasonably have some fair expectations of this 1994 feature. It doesn't take long after we begin watching that we can begin to form an impression of the movie, and it's not necessarily the strongest one. It is enjoyable in some measure, though, and a decent credit to those involved, and worth watching if one has the opportunity.
One of our questions is answered by the time we're only twenty minutes in, as some bits have not aged well; note some tawdry ableism in the dialogue, and in how a couple supporting characters are written. There's also a bit of a mean streak running through these 111 minutes generally, and having watched a sufficient number of comedies that were wonderfully funny without any need for abject meanness, the approach is no more appealing here than it is in other like-minded titles. At the same time, there's some fun to be had in the core content of a trio of bumbling bank robbers who are stymied by both their own ineptitude, by the unbothered good nature and kind spirit of the people in the town they're victimizing, and by inclement weather and unlikely circumstances; there's plentiful cleverness in the screenplay. Yet the tone is a tad too gentle, and the pacing somewhat lax, diminishing the intended impact of some of the humor; conversely, there are some moments when George Gallo's direction or Terry Rawlings' editing feel a tad brusque or forced. And that's to say nothing, of course, of how from top to bottom the narrative demands hearty suspension of disbelief as it is stitched together in no small part by some Movie Magic and wishful thinking.
In fairness, that growing concatenation of conditions that comprises the storytelling is, in turn, part of the whimsical charm that 'Trapped in Paradise' boasts at its best. Despite the troubles that this carries, thankfully its strengths are more significant. The situational humor is delightful, however far-fetched; the silliness of some gags and scene writing is just swell. The characters and dialogue are written well, full of personality, and the cast very ably bring the proceedings to cheerful, meaningful life. Beyond the humor Gallo's writing is also marked with just the right measure of earnest heart and themes to provide an anchor for the picture, The scene writing is pretty terrific, giving us a steady stream of efforts by the Firpo brothers to make a clean getaway, efforts by other parties to intervene or resolve the situation, and incidents of one variety or another that obstruct them all. The result may not be riotously funny, but the flick does earn some laughs and serve up consistent amusement, and is ultimately pleasant, endearing, and a good time overall.
The filming locations are outstanding, not to mention the art direction, and any stunts and effects that are employed. Though imperfect in some noted ways, at large this is well made all around, including capable orchestration of every shot, smart cinematography, and good use of lighting. All told the film is is never robustly entertaining, and it's not something that wholly commands one's attention, but even with faults it's broadly well-rounded, with a suitable balance between the comedy and the more sincere dramatic elements. I do wish that it did more to make a major impression, for if it did then it would be more memorable and I'd think more highly of it. Nonetheless, while a tad too low-key for its own good, 'Trapped in Paradise' remains worthwhile on its own merits; best reserved as something relatively light on a quiet December night, this deserves to be checked out if you have the chance. -
dearmond-15 July 2007Al though this movie isn't at the bottom of my list, this is among the worse commercial movies I have seen. I do not understand why Nick Cage took on this movie. There are only two things that rise slightly above category, but these are not enough to change my vote: Dana Carvey and his slick and funny pickpocketing and Florence Stanley is funny I liked her a lot. She and Dana raise the movie to 1.5, which is still short of 2.
The acting sucks and the writing sucks. And the plot sucks big time. The movie is roughly a modern version of slap stick. Classical slap stick is probably better. The finale was worse than the movie itself. Essentially, the finale was predictable.