Paradise
Image Entertainment | Release Date: October 18, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
35
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
10
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
57
Film.comKate ErblandOct 15, 2013
A directorial debut composed of many of the filmmaker’s trademarks (strong women, pop cultural-heavy dialogue, a difficult subject matter made light by way of wit) that still manages to disappoint when it comes to the final product. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedOct 22, 2013
By the way, for reasons nobody bothers to explain, Las Vegas is played by New Orleans. Go figure. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithOct 17, 2013
Cody’s satiric knocks on Christians couldn’t be more blundering and obvious. Yet her dialogue is often funny, and the unusual three-way friendship is refreshing. Even former star Brand has learned to dial back his manic mugging, though maybe not quite enough. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenOct 17, 2013
Though it's built around a kernel of tender feeling, the comedy never transcends its basic contrivance. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 17, 2013
Paradise is a ringing disappointment. Cody shows some potential as a director, but her own script lets her down. Read full review
50
The DissolveMike D'AngeloOct 16, 2013
Of all the possible ways Diablo Cody’s directorial debut might fail, perhaps the least likely was that it would be innocuous enough to potentially bore the audience into a stupor. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlOct 15, 2013
There's something to be said for fiction that, in its form, dares to resemble life as it's lived. Our minor failings and chemical imbalances certainly shape our stories. This troubled yet promising debut gets that much right. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerOct 14, 2013
The film smartly avoids the sort of cynical hijinks that characterize the majority of Vegas-set flicks, though it can't come up with anything more compelling to place in its stead. Read full review
42
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallOct 15, 2013
The concept is rich with potential to offend yet after a promising opener Cody doesn't seem interested. Read full review
40
VarietyPeter DebrugeOct 13, 2013
Cody shows promise as a director, paving over the bumpy patches with clever song choices, but needs to mix things up if she hopes to continue. Read full review
30
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisOct 17, 2013
Like much of Ms. Cody’s work, Paradise plays out in quippy sound bites, only this time they feel entirely unsuited to Lamb’s sheltered background. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Oct 16, 2013
Destined to please only "Rock Of Ages" fans who wished Hough and Brand had more screen time together, Paradise boasts the broadest, most saccharine tendencies of its writer and first-time director. In Cody terms, it’s a doodle that can’t be undid. Read full review
25
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezSep 6, 2013
Paradise is neither a good film nor is there any evidence it was a good script. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierOct 17, 2013
Ultimately, Paradise is a tiny version of a saint’s journey among sinners, an immature conception. Peramb-you-later, Lamb. Read full review
20
Time OutJoshua RothkopfOct 15, 2013
If mean-spirited snarksters had set out to trash the reputation of "Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody, they couldn’t have done a more vicious job than the Oscar winner herself does with her directorial debut. Read full review
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