'Fool's Paradise' quietly, barely charms its way through
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If at some point you thought “What a shame Charlie Chaplin never got to share the screen with an energy drink,” great news: “Fool’s Paradise,” the feature writing/directing debut for Charlie Day of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Horrible Bosses,” stars its filmmaker in a nearly silent role that may inspire questions like “Why hasn’t Rob McElhenney written a feature yet?” and “Why do people cast Ken Jeong in stuff?” As far as this goofy but sweet diversion that showcases some directorial promise while needing quite a bit more in the ideas department, you’ll merely ask, “Is a bunch of big laughs and a nice spirit enough?”
I say that it is. “Fool’s Paradise” is too funny to dismiss while also being too spotty to endorse beyond the mildest of mild enthusiasm.
Yanked off the sidewalk by a film producer (Ray Liotta) astounded at the man’s resemblance to an obnoxious movie star, the aforementioned wordless main character (Day) lands a gig as a stand-in and then a leading man accidentally named Latte Pronto when the real actor dies. Never saying anything to ruffle any feathers, Latte soon becomes a hot commodity, marrying one co-star (Kate Beckinsale), hanging with another (Adrien Brody) and leading a highly anticipated vehicle for a lesser-known superhero named “Mosquito Boy.” By now you should and certainly have thought, “That sounds ridiculous,” and that’s OK: Anyone who has seen some of Day’s work as Charlie “Wild Card” Kelly knows how likable he can be even in his most outrageous, foolish moments, and in “Fool’s Paradise” he challenges himself to hold the screen with surprised eyes and kind smiles. And he does.
Does the movie make sense? No. Does it have anything fresh to say about Hollywood? Also no. Does it lead anywhere in particular? Not really, especially considering I’d had enough of Jeong as Latte’s publicist Lenny after about eight seconds.
But Day has clearly learned from the many absurd moments of deliberately awful movies on “Sunny” and keeps “Fool’s Paradise” on the right side of amusing even when the story and logic and sometimes patience fall away. And if you can get John Malkovich to bring his characteristic intensity to the sort of bonkers lines he does late in the film, that’s reason enough to hang around, no matter how many other times we’ve seen folks poke fun at the hollow extremes that can be found in the entertainment world. You’ll leave wanting a lot more but shouldn’t mistake that for having received nothing.
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