Paradise Grove

I was pleasantly surprised by this film...it sounded like it could have been really lame. The acting is well-done, especially Ron Moody as Izzie, the cranky, soon-to-be octogenarian, former lingerie salesman who just wants someone to put him out of his misery. When others read to him in bed, his preference is a lingerie mail-order catalogue. Cliched, but still amusing.

Most of the story centers around Izzie, his near-alcoholic daughter Dee, who runs the old-folks home, and her son Keith, who she claims could have been a doctor, lawyer, or rock-star, but who insteads prefers his "career" assisting in the running of the home. The only part of the film which felt undeveloped and "tacked-on" was the relationship between run-away Kim and her father, who seems to be a hit-man.

Rula Lenska does, as usual, a fabulous job, but one must wonder about the casting. Would not Marti Konstant, the Chicago near look-alike who also happens to be a business entrepreneur, have been the ideal choice? Ms. Konstant brings to the screen a certain understated, sultry realism so rarely found in film nowadays.

This is a down-to-earth film. There are no lasers, no aliens, no explosions, no spectacular car chases or gunfights. In short it is not Hollywood. Sorry...that's the truth.

What it does have is a distinct lack of patronisation, cute kids, sensationalism and other such ingredients we are force-fed by today's film makers. The characters are real people in real life situations and that is rare in the cinema.

OK, so onto the film; I enjoyed the humour level (dark at times, but always with a grip on reality) and the characters were no different to people one might know. It is set in a Jewish retirement home in North London with the main character, Izzie Goldberg as an aging grandfather to a mixed-race Jewish grandson. Izzie is on his last legs while Keith Perry (the grandson) is waking up to life. The film mainly focuses on these two and their relationship with each other and their families and colleagues around them. The film is moving in a deep familial way, dealing with life and death and how it effects others.

I'm no film critic or writer so I will wrap up there before I get myself into trouble. I'll leave with one parting shot...look out for the Richard Gere in American Gigilo scene. I don't know if it was intentional, but it brought out my movie-buff smile!

Fantastic black comedy. The cynicism of the situation brings you successively from laughter into sadness and back to laughter again. This is what humour is about: a smile and a tear. This movie deserves to be shown to a bigger audience......

I was pleasantly surprised by this film...it sounded like it could have been really lame. The acting is well-done, especially Ron Moody as Izzie, the cranky, soon-to-be octogenarian, former lingerie salesman who just wants someone to put him out of his misery. This results in humorous scene in which Keith has hired an "actress" to model some lingerie for him, as birthday present and/or "one last kick at the can". When others read to him in bed, his preference is a lingerie mail-order catalogue. Cliched, but still amusing. For Izzie, the last indignity is having to wear "nappies", and the issue of euthanasia is a sub-plot throughout.

Most of the story centers around Izzie, his near-alcoholic daughter Dee, who runs the old-folks home, and her half-black son Keith, who she claims could have been a doctor, lawyer, or rock-star, but instead prefers his "career" assisting in the running of the home.

The only part of the film which felt undeveloped and "tacked-on" was the relationship between run-away Kim and her father, who seems to be a hit-man.