Paradise: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Lamb Mannerheim’s (Julianne Hough) faith is shaken after a plane crash burns two-thirds of her body, and she shocks her small-town congregation when she publicly renounces God. As she sets out to experience the worldly pleasures of Las Vegas, she meets a bartender and a cynical lounge singer who help her check off as many dirty deeds as possible from her Napkin of Sin bucket list.
Diablo Cody has made quite a name for herself in Hollywood and I was excited to see what she going next. This film was a bit different than her others because of the subject matter. It doesn’t dwell on the aspect of religion but it is the driving force of the film itself and is the reason of Lamb’s new found clarity. Finding ones self is really the main theme of the movie and by the end all you want is to see Lamb happy and move forward with her life which she ultimately does. Hough has grown immensely as an actress and I feel like she’s proven herself to be more than just a dancer. She has taken a role where the character’s focal point wasn’t on beauty which is great because it shows that she was more focused on the story itself rather than the vanity of it. Russell Brand has shown a bit of a deeper side than the comedic actor that we all know. His character conveyed a lot of heart and warmth while still getting the laughs at times. Juggling both aspects of a character is challenging but he does it with no problem whatsoever. Octavia Spencer shows exactly why she’s an Oscar winner. Her versatility is something that people are barely beginning to see and I’m so glad for it. To me she has always been much bigger than any of the parts that she’s taken and you can really see that here. She was the wise one in the film even though her character resisted it so much and that made her a very important part of the story as well. Although this film may not be beloved as Juno was it is still pretty great and I suggest you save some space in your film collection and in your heart for it. You’ll love this one for sure.
Special Features:
Behind The Scenes with Diablo Cody, Russell Brand, Julianne Hough, Octavia Spencer – Some pretty good features with the director and the cast explaining a bit about the film and their experience working on it.
