by Scott Batchelor, Contributing Writer
Charlie Day is a creative force. Nobody can deny that the man is brilliant. He is always finding ways to entertain in different methods. You can just look at his work on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and see that he finds ways to take his character work to new lengths to get out of the mold of playing a one-dimensional dimwit. Day’s ability to make a sociopathic loser somehow lovable is admirable, and he will go down as playing one of the greatest characters in television history. He is always trying, and oftentimes lands a creative venture worth talking about. With his directing debut of Fool’s Paradise, Day attempts something both satirical and charming. But while the satire is a great piece of commentary of Hollywood filmmaking, the charm doesn’t feel earned.
The charm factor falters a bit because it is attached to Ken Jeong playing Lenny, a publicist whose last client just fired him. Desperate to find anyone to give him an income, he attaches himself to Day’s Latte Pronto. We actually don’t learn his real name, which is part of the satire. Jeong does attempt to play sympathetic, but it doesn’t come off as anything but insincere, because that is the type of character he usually plays. I just don’t think he has the ability to turn off smarmy, sarcastic and scheming.
But Day does have the ability, and he shows it. Our poor Latte was once held in a mental facility for unknown reasons, as he does not talk. Latte is nonverbal, and only communicates via pantomime, and often not very well. He is quickly bounced to the streets because he has no one to care for him, and the state won’t pay for his rehabilitation. He is quickly found by The Producer (Ray Liotta) and inserted into a feature film. The lead of said feature is difficult to work with, also played by Day, so obviously the two characters share similar enough features that they can be swapped for each other. Because of a series of misunderstandings, Latte gains rave reviews and is made into a star.
We have a series of cameos from both big name actors and It’s Always Sunny alums that make this a fun bit, and almost feels like Where’s Waldo. This montage of Latte’s rise plays kind of like Saturday Night Live sketches featuring recurring characters, rather than a coherent movie. Because of the pace in which they move along, I don’t fully have time to wrap my head around what they are trying to say. The movie starts off somewhat grounded, but quickly goes absurdist — the comedy style is something that took me a while to figure out. But once you catch onto the style and what to look for, the satire is pretty funny. Each scene is dripping with commentary that is worth watching for, and is made all the better by the performance of Day. He gives a fun performance as a silent actor, and provides plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
But because the movie has trouble taking itself seriously, the attempt at making me feel any sympathy is forced. Latte and Lenny do not quite have the chemistry that could propel the duo to a super team. Lenny does not paint himself as likable enough to really root for him. And as the movie rolls on, you realize you don’t know enough about Latte to care about his journey either. Latte is just a cartoon character that you are supposed to laugh at when he makes a funny face. But even Bugs Bunny shows some depth.
While half the story has trouble hitting the moments it was aiming for, the commentary does leave you thinking. When Latte is not paired with Lenny, he is working opposite ultra-diva starlet, Christiana Dior (Kate Beckinsale) who comes and goes at the appropriate pace. There are some places where the writing fixes itself and becomes a joy, but the whole first act is hard to really connect until you are allowed in on the joke. At times the humor goes so absurd, you would think it works better within an episode of The Simpsons. But because of the effort clearly put into the performances, you should at least give this look when it lands on streaming.
Score: 6/10
Fool’s Paradise is currently playing in theaters
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