Not the best film out there, but it does have a female teen audience that may like the movie. “Paradise Hills” tells a wicked tale of getting even and revenge as it weaves its way out of “paradise” and into a real world. Sadly the acting does not really make it here, nor does the first try by Alice Waddinton as the director and writer. The film has far too much dialogue for the hour and a half and cutting at least 10% could have helped.
Betrothed to a rich bully, teenager Uma (Emma Roberts) gets sent to Paradise Hills, a health and rehab spa to become an obedient wife. While at the opulent estate she’s under the command of The Duchess (Milla Jovovich), a no nonsense task master who runs the place with a crack team of slave drivers. While there she meets roommates Chloe (Danielle Macdonald) and Yu (Awkwafina).
The three have nothing in common. Uma is there to become subservient, Chloe has to lose weight and Yu needs to upgrade her beauty and persona to become a pageant queen. Even though Uma has no desire to marry her intended mate that has been chosen by her mother, she finds that misery loves company. The three decide to become buds, but the going isn’t easy especially when they meet famous singer Amarna Vicario (Eiza Gonzalez).
Director and writer Alice Waddington does cast her film with recognizable actors including Emma Roberts, Danielle Macdonald, and famous Mexican actress and singer Eiza Gonzalez. However, her story seems to fit the mold that targets teens and pre-teen females and for that it narrows her market. She gives her film a good opening and makes her main character Uma interesting. It’s not enough though and the film goes off on a tangent while Uma overpowers her support. The same goes for Gonzalez as Amarna who dominates the storyline with her treatment of Uma.
Emma Roberts really never reaches the high point of Uma’s arc. Uma wants to get out of the clutches of The Duchess so she sides with Anmarna and it’s evident that’s the wrong choice. She really never recovers from that decision while she’s stranded on the island that’s the home of Paradise Hills. This is not Emma’s best choice of films and with the narrow audience base for it, I hope she had a good payday. She needs to stick with what she does best like her roles in “American Horror Story” that was a very good career move. I’ll also give her points for Nerve, it’s her kind of film and hopefully she’ll have many more opportunities like that.
“Paradise Hills” has been rated TV-14, it has some adult material, violence and bullying. The teen will love the white opulent fashions and hair styles in the film and the guys should attract their attention as well.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Not my cup of tea. (2 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Emma Roberts, Danielle Macdonald, Awkwafina, Eiza Gonzalez, Milla Jovovich, Jeremy Irvine, Nancy Jack, Arnaud Valois,
Directed and co-written by: Alice Waddington
Genre: Fantasy
TV Rating: TV 14
Running Time: 1 hr. 35 min.
Opening Date: October 25, 2019
Distributed by: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Released in: Theaters
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
