User reviews

Before Robin Williams solidly established himself as a star in "Good Morning, Vietnam", he starred in several innocuously silly movies such as "Club Paradise". He plays Jack Moniker, a Chicago firefighter who retires and moves to the Caribbean island of St. Nicholas. There, he joins up with tour guide Ernest Reed (Jimmy Cliff) and the two of them open a wild business, with the help of Gov. Anthony Cloyden Hayes (Peter O'Toole). Once the rich American tourists start arriving, the high finks take off.

The movie is mostly an excuse for a bunch of goofy things to happen, especially when the characters played by Eugene Levy and Rick Moranis embarrass themselves. True, Williams did better with some of his later work, but "Club Paradise" is still pretty funny.

The movie's slapstick was awful to the point of it being painful to watch, but I really enjoyed the witty banter and verbal jibes between the cast most of the time. There were plenty of times the film had me laughing out loud with their verbal jabs, but the physical comedy was so overacted, it looked like a silly, low budget comedy. It's a shame because this cast was fantastic and it should've played out a lot better than it did. I gave it 6 stars because it's still a fun movie and it's always a pleasure to see stars like Peter O'Toole and Robin Williams mixing it up with other comedic talents, even though this one falls a bit short.

This is a very enjoyable film, even if it doesn't always deliver the gut-laughs that you might expect. While I can only give it a six or a seven, I always think of it with a smile; it's definitely just as funny or funnier than the average comedy coming out today.

Part of my affinity for this movie is the cast. Robin Williams, as you would only expect, is his manic self here, a fish-out-of-water ex-Chicago fireman, struggling to open a low rent tourist resort in a banana republic. He's got some funny bits, and his throwaway ad lib's are better than most other actors' scripted lines.

The real bonus, though, is the rest of the cast. Jimmy Cliff, the original reggae superstar, stars as Williams'musician business partner (how's _that_ for authenticity?). Peter O'Toole swills drinks and purses his lips around his extra long cigarette holder,while spitting out his cynical, glib observations regarding the tropical paradise/hellhole.

But some of the funniest moments here are provided by several veterans of SCTV. Andrea Martin plays a pampered wife, most definitely out of her element in Williams' accomodations, while Rick Moranis and Eugene Levy are hilarious playing two slaughterhouse workers trying to score, in more ways than one. Some of the drug humor connected with their characters is every bit as funny as anything Cheech & Chong attempted.

Additionally, Brian Doyle-Murray, Twiggy, and Adolph Caesar round out a very busy cast. The story moves along quickly, the music is great, and the whole thing makes a great accompaniment for your favorite bag of microwave popcorn.

6-7 stars.

The only reason it gets a five from me is because Jimmy Cliff was in it. Easily Robin Williams worst film to this point in his career.

Now I have to think of another five hundred words to leave this review. I only saw it because a friends father worked for a local radio station(WLOQ) and occasionally, got free tickets to movie premieres. This was one. There was another dud, which I can't recall, right now, and the single good/great movie was Aliens. The sequel to Alien, but based on our track record, I was certainly not optimistic about. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be superior to the original.

I think the other movie wax Armed and Dangerous. Also bad.

For Williams, this wasn't the most impressive of comebacks after a two and a half dry acting spell. I found the movie funnier, when I first saw it back in 87' with a friend, who was a Robin William's fan. I was no way disappointed as I remember vividly now that viewing. I must say it's catalyst was something that rocked as wearied fireman Williams, survives a near miss with death after a building explosion, an impressive stunt acting dog, becoming a bit of a martyr in William's rescue, beforehand. Now living off workers comp, he resides in the beautiful island of St Nicholas, where many months have passed, seen through a montage, played against a golden oldie from reggae legend, Jimmy Cliff, during the opening credits. With a new found love, sexy Twiggy, Williams sets up a new resort called Club Paradise, where soon greedy and corrupt forces are trying to buy it up, where Williams and co won't budge. Really here is a clichéd and unoriginal scenario in these sort of comedies, laughs scarce, far or a few between, yet I still enjoyed it, but truly it's a comedy that sags, that does have some interesting moments, one involving a anaconda choking one of the female guests, that same guest earlier having one hell of a shower as promised by Williams. Yeah it's a real blast. Too we have inexperienced windsurfer, Moranis, who goes astray into what later becomes rough seas. When him and his friend are reunited, running towards each other in slo mo, it's priceless, a poor traumatised, Moranis, in disheveled attire. William's likable character is one of the few components that makes the film watchable, as does Twiggy, providing eye candy, where Peter O Toole is fun too as a contradicting aristocrat, despite that stupid Razzie nomination. Adolph Caesar does still the limelight as the greedy developer, where at times he's bloody hilarious, like when posing for a shot amidst an attack on an attack on the resort. I didn't realize what such a good actor he was. Too, another great moment, concerning Moranis and Levy, is when an excess quantity of mary jane falls into their lap, where the goggle eyed pilot has to dispose of it, as weighing down the plane, en route back to their home town. The lucky, pot smoking locals are very appreciative too.u. Also with Jimmy Cliff singing, we also get to watch him act too, and he ain't half bad. If you weigh up Club Paradise with Williams and Twiggy, etc. pretty scenery as positives, where the negative is the laugh ratio, you could do worse. It just won't be at the top of William's hit parade. For William's fans, though some of whom aren't gonna like this

With the star power like this film it's on the right track, but something feels a little bit off, it is watchable but it seems like not enough work has been done before it want into production.

Many comedies require their own set of rating considerations. Club Paradise is one of those. This slips into the "guilty of mindless fun" category. The movie does not stand on a strong story. The charm is in its Carribbean setting, the mostly reggae soundtrack, Jimmy Cliff's character and Robin Williams' character--while we're at it throw Peter O'toole in their too. Charm, charm, charm. The writing is borderline offensive, that is, if you watch the film with a highly critical mind. One might complain that dangerously negative stereotypes abound in this film. Maybe they do. My suggestion is to enjoy the popcorn and let the laughter roll. You can feel guilty later. Fun stuff.

Robin Williams and friends from the Second City gang take a vacation on the lovely, fictional isle of St.Nicholas (filmed in Jamaica) in the summer of 1985 and bring along Peter O'Toole, Twiggy and Jimmy Cliff. They even remember to make a feature film while they are there. Too bad they forgot to include more laughs. Sunstroke maybe? Enjoy the tropical locations and songs by reggae star Jimmy Cliff. The mindless and undeveloped story wastes a ton of comic talent. Fans of Williams and SCTV will get a kick of seeing all the comic actors in one place, but will be hard pressed to enjoy it. I think their home videos of the trip would have been funnier to watch. For some reason I find myself watching it every now and again.

Turn your brain down to 'warm,sunny Caribbean beach' mode and just enjoy the few entertaining bits of this studio-funded holiday.

I guess I'm an '80's boy because I have so much to remember, high school graduation, college, Navy service etc. etc. Yet it is the movies I remember the most and this is one of them.

It is cute and fun and with some great actors playing, so what if it didn't win any Oscars? Sure it wasn't gut bursting laughs by the minute, rather smiling all through the movie.

No. It is all about the beautiful warm feeling you get, like coming directly from the Caribbean sun itself. Laid back, cool music and a good time.

Pour yourself a drink (Bacardi perhaps?) watch it on a rainy winter evening with some company and you'll have a great time especially if you can remember yourself when you watched it for the first time.

I happened to come across "Club Paradise" by sheer random luck, finding it for $2 at the local secondhand DVD store. I never saw this movie before and bought it solely because of Robin Williams in the lead role.

But this movie was a wide swing and miss. And not really in the usual slope of the 1980's comedies. The laughs were few and far apart. This story might have been more funny on paper, because as a movie it wasn't particularly impressive.

What the movie had working for it was its impressive cast list with lots of familiar faces. Just a shame that they had so very little material to work with in terms of script and directorial supervision.

How the movie fared back in 1986 when it came out, I have no idea. But watching it this many years later, I can honestly say that it was not a noteworthy movie experience. And while it is a part of the Robin Williams movie legacy, it is nowhere near his best work.

So if you want to get away for about an hour and a half, "Club Paradise" is not the best of locations.

I had to add a comment to this page because I couldn't believe that it only had a 4. something rating. I believe it deserves something much higher. I first saw this film about 15 years ago now, and ever since it has become one of my all time favorites. The comedy to the acting to the soundtrack all truly represent the best of 80's comedy film making. Either you love 80's films or you hate them. My husband hates them, which makes me wonder sometimes how I could've married a man that stands against everything I love about movies. The two Barry's are the best. "Barry - Barry... I scored"! I think I have watched this move about 50 times in my life and that is no exaggeration. I will watch it anytime its on. Jimmy Cliff delivers a soundtrack like no other. Every song could'va made one of his albums without anyone knowing it was Scored for a film. In fact I wish I could find where to buy the soundtrack as I have looked for years and have never been able to find it. Brian Doyle Murray is also hilarious in this film. Maybe it has to do with my childhood and experimenting with Reggae, and Drugs that made me fall in love with this film, but as I said it will always be one of my favorites and I hope everyone that loves 80's films gets to see this at least once.

This is a very fun movie starring Robin Williams, the cast is great, it has the whole cast of SCTV, except for John Candy, who should have been in it playing one of Robin Williamw' buddies or something. It's got everyone else though, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Brian Doyle-Murray, Mary Gross(Saturday Night Live), Andrea Martin(AKA Edith Prickley), and Joe Flaherty is hilarious as the crazy unexperienced pilot. This isnt a classic, but it is still great fun. 7 out of 10

Injured while risking his life to save an angry German shepherd, Chicago Firefighter Jack Moniker retires and moves to a small Caribbean island named St. Nicholas.

Allegedly, this film was originally supposed to star Bill Murray and John Cleese (I assume instead of Robin Williams and Peter O'Toole). I am not a big Williams fan and would have loved to see some Bill Murray. Peter O'Toole and John Cleese -- how to decide? One is clearly known more for humor, but they are both classy, reputable actors.

What makes this film memorable (and there are not many things that do) are the nipples of Eugene Levy. Large, pink blobs surrounded by a sea of fuzz. I am a furry guy, so I am not knocking the hair... but what are those pink blobs? They seem to have a bigger role in this film than Rick Moranis.

I love Club Paradise, great soundtrack by Jimmy Cliff and the only Robin Williams movie I can say I truly enjoy.

Its a cute silly film, mostly disliked but a great post SCTV carry over cast with Eugene Levy and Rick moranis up to no good in the jungle.

Williams delivers and Peter O' Toole is so superior as "The Govenor" truly wry British humor is used at all times.

A great $4.99 value found recently for sale at Walgreens, pick it up and have a larf.

Cherrio caps!

-Sean in LA

I used to like Robin Williams. As time has gone on I've come to realize that perhaps I don't very much. When he's funny, he's hilarious. When he isn't. . . it's embarrassing. And CLUB PARADISE is one of the worst films he's made, which is saying something. It's hard to imagine that something so bad could have been directed by Harold Ramis (usually a rather reliable director/writer).

The cast all look awkward and the jokes are forced and unfunny. I think CLUB PARADISE is probably one of the only comedies I can think of that doesn't even really entertain on some sort of level. No, it's not totally awful, but it's not amusing which is a huge flaw for any "comedy." 1.5/5 stars

This movie must have been a hell of a lot of fun to be working on the set of. You get a beautiful tropical setting and a cast full of very funny, talented actors and comedians. You get Robin Williams working with nearly the entire cast of SCTV and a few fun SNL faces(Mary Gross, Robin Duke, and Brian Doyle-Murray) and veteran Peter O'Toole thrown in for good measure, all under the direction of another SCTV veteran, Harold Ramis. It is a lot of fun seeing these people work together.

Unfortunately, the film lacks in everything else. There is almost no plot and what there is of a plot consists of going on vacation and then being there, and thats it. The diolouge could have been written by anybody and the characters are not exactly thrilling. Had this film not included such great comic actors, this film would have been an absolute disaster. I cannot recommend this film, but the cast does make it watchable, if it isn't worth watching.

You see the names: Robin Williams, Peter O'Toole, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis. Wonderful actors, and very funny. You naturally assume that you will be spending most of your time rolling on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. Then you make one serious mistake. You decide to actually watch "Club Paradise."

This movie is dreadful. It isn't funny; it isn't even close to being funny. You do not laugh. Instead, you struggle - and often fail - to stay awake during this interminable piece of rubbish. I won't even get into talking about the plot, such as it is, except to say that it matches everything else about this movie: it's dreadful.

1/10

I recently viewed Club Paradise (1986) on Tubi. The story revolves around a retired firefighter who opts to leave the big city for life on a tropical island. When his favorite resort faces bankruptcy, he decides to invest and help it stage a comeback. However, the journey proves more challenging than the firefighter anticipated.

Directed by Harold Ramis (Caddyshack), the film features Robin Williams (Aladdin), Peter O'Toole (Lawrence of Arabia), Rick Moranis (Ghostbusters), Eugene Levy (American Pie), and Brian Doyle-Murray (Groundhog Day).

This movie is classic 80s comedic cheese that's contains a great cast and fun hijinks. Robin Williams is more fun than funny in this. It's not his best performance but you can't not love Robin Williams. Rick Moranis and Eugene Levy are hilarious. The settings were fun and this contains some classic 80's scenarios, similar to Summer Rental. The storyline is straightforward with a predictable outcome. The soundtrack is 80s gold.

In conclusion, Club Paradise stands as a classic 80s comedy, a must-see for fans of the era, although it's just average overall. I'd rate it a 5.5/10 but recommend watching it at least once.

This film is an example of bad comedy writing, and lame humor. The acting make this film passable, but one can see the jokes coming a mile away. Do something more productive with your time. It's not a stinker, but avoid it. 5/10

You know you're in trouble when a comedy gives all the best part to its leading star and completely forgets about the ensemble of talents behind him. Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoyed "Club Paradise" because it has those typical elements of the underdogs fighting about powerful bullies and if you thrown some humor you can't get it wrong, but the movie does have some wrong notes that can affect the experiences for more demanding viewers (and I guess it did since this film is barely known by most audiences and it was a flop at the time). Die-hard fans of Robin Williams, Peter O'Toole, Rick Moranis, Joanna Cassidy and Eugene Levy might have their day in the park with this one (I did) but be sure there'll be bumps along the way.

Comic genius Williams gets all the best lines and the best moments in the film as he plays a Chicago firefighter who decides to go a Latin American paradise island to enjoy his retirement after an accident at work. There, he enjoys the quiet life with the locals and befriends a hotel manager/singer (Jimmy Cliff), who is about to lose his hotel due to taxes and pressures from the head of state (Adolph Caesar) and a powerfully rich competitor in the hotel business (Brian Doyle-Murray), who both made a secret deal with foreign investors to take over the island and plan to make new housing developments for the wealthy. By that time, Williams is already a business partner of Cliff, trying to attract more tourists to their joint and make new business there and try to save the place from being shut down.

As said, Williams gets all the best moments, not just because he was incredibly talented and a master of his craft, but mostly because the script doesn't give much material to everyone else either reducing the characters to typical cliches (O'Toole playing a snob Brit guy) or are just there to cause annoyance since all the tourists are quite clueless to what they're going through - like the Moranis/Levy trying to charm women and getting themselves involved in countless problems, or the divided couple where the woman is having the fun of her life while her boring husband just complains about everything. The bad guys are quite fun to watch but they don't have enough bite to make them a serious menace.

Yet I enjoyed the picture, one can have an enjoyable good time watching it but it won't be much of spectacular fun experience as it could be if considering the talents involved (but they didn't get much of a decent script, anyway, it's just the best those folks could think of). My only complain with it except for the cheap laughs is why when Williams take over the resort he doesn't implement the needed changes in the place and make it all look as a false advertising experience.

Sure, he sugarcoats everything, charming the customers when there are problems in the room and such but that kind of vibe could turn everyone against him had the tourist put into thought when the rich folks kept threatning to buy the hotel. That takes some credibility from the one decent guy in the whole picture. And I wonder if the film had turn into some dark corners as it seems to go when Cliff decides to fight back the army...could the movie be a stronger work that could reflect the struggles faced by Latin American nations in the 1980's during Cold War? Perhaps, but the comedy would turn into something in the background.

"Club Paradise" is not a total failure, neither a failure it is...except for not getting the profits when needed. On an ultimate case, it's a small entertaining film where we can look back at all of those actors who are no longer with us, sharing the screen and having some fun. 6/10.

Robin Williams stars as a retired fire worker from Chicago who moves to the Caribbean to help a rundown "resort" cater to affluent Americans. The movie chronicles the madcap exploits of the proprietors, guests and colorful island denizens at the new "Club Paradise" as they square off with greedy developers who want the valuable beachfront property.

There's just enough good in "Club Paradise" to make it worth catching if you're in the mood for a fun island flick. It's decidedly mediocre, but consistently amusing and there's no raunch. But they coulda done more with the women.

Co-stars include Twiggy, Peter O'Toole, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Joanna Cassidy, Eugene Levy, Jimmy Cliff and Adolph Caesar.

The film runs 96 minutes and was shot in Port Antonio, Jamaica, Chicago and L.A.

GRADE: C+

I was in my senior year of high school. A bunch of us loaded up in cars and drove to a movie theater in a nearby town. The school had only 150 students and the town was/is still small. Anyway, we all went into the movie theater and before the movie started the class president who was also the clown decided to introduce us as the Class of 87 and this was our senior nite out. He proceeded down the line with all of the class and told people their names nicknames.

A few minutes later the manager came out and told us we'd better behave or get thrown out.

That alone made this movie memorable too me.