THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 9, 1994 TAG: 9412080039
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: TEEN REVIEW
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER E. BENTON, TEENOLOGY MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
ALONG WITH blinking lights and shopping mall Santas, the holiday season brings with it a menagerie of highly decorated films. ``Trapped in Paradise'' is no exception. It is the story of the Firpo brothers, three boys from the Bronx who end up getting much more Christmas cheer than they'd planned.
Nicholas Cage - formerly seen in ``Moonstruck'' and ``It Could Happen to You'' - plays the eldest and most moral brother, Bill Firpo. He is the only sibling who has not yet been incarcerated and he is trying to make an honest life for himself.
The other brothers - played by ``Saturday Night Live'' alumni Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz - have just been paroled because of prison overcrowding. Carvey plays the spastic kleptomaniac brother, while Lovitz plays a pathological liar. After being placed into their reluctant brother's care, the two ex-cons immediately start up their old tricks, which lead to the three of them having to flee from the cops all the way from New York City to homey little Paradise, Penn.
It is in this Norman Rockwell-esque town that the good brother begins to think along the same devious lines as his brothers. He stops protesting their behavior and even initiates a bank robbery.
As it turns out, robbing the bank was the easy part for the Firpo brothers. Getting out of Paradise is an entirely different matter. The Firpos try numerous times to escape Paradise. This eventually gets monotonous and tiring, making you wish something would happen to bring it all to an end.
What definitely isn't monotonous is the comedy team of the three main characters. Carvey brings his zany talent to this role, and Lovitz is equally as funny. Cage rounds out the trio as a great straight man against their craziness.
Madchen Amick - once a part of the ``Twin Peaks'' cast - plays Cage's semi-love interest. This facet of the film, as well as Cage's abrupt behavior change, makes no sense. She and Cage hardly speak two sentences to one another, and suddenly they're building a life together?
``Trapped in Paradise'' scores high in characterization. The Firpo brothers as well as the town's people are believable and used to their fullest potential. They add to the comedy that just seems to flow in this film. Also, the small-town scenery and peaceful footage of the Pennsylvania countryside is a plus for this movie.
While the plot may be slightly unbelievable, it is typical of the holiday fare whose sole purpose is to put the audience in a feel-good holiday mood. It is for this reason that only the Grinch would be cynical about the movie's ending. It fulfills its purpose as a holiday heartwarmer and gets a few laughs in the process. MEMO: ``Trapped in Paradise'' is rated PG-13. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Jennifer Benton is a senior at Lakeland.
by CNB