Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Micitype Pretty Good

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Scott SHultis (imdb-448) We rented Reel Paradise anticipating a look into the trials of running a movie theater in a remote location, and dealing with cultural and language challenges. Evidently there weren't enough trials to fill the film, so the trials of being urban Americans in a non-urban culture filled in the gaps.It was embarrassing to watch the teenage Fijian girl tell the camera how it's strange to watch the American girl talk to her parents. "We don't... talk like that". The tattooed and pierced American 16 year old did what and who she wanted. Not terribly related to running a theater, and not terribly interesting.John proved to be rude and condescending to the Fijians, as well as his landlord. He insulted the school and church on the island, and showed the movies half way through the local mass, saying, they're going to have to make a choice.As a fan of documentaries, and the new infotainment from Michael Moore and others, I was looking forward to a good independent film. What we got was an unfortunate display of how Americans act away from home, and why so many people around the world don't like us.One of the few DVD's we have ever turned off before finishing.

billymwilcox I fell in love with Fiji several years ago and return every June to detox from America. Fiji represents amazing incongruencies that push the visitor to the edge. You have unspeakable beauty and isolation in such a remote location but it is also a third world country that the British, of course, left in bad shape in the 1970's. Reel Paradise and its cast capture the contradictions that are ever present--down to the detail. And this is coming from someone who intimately knows Fijians and the culture. In fact, in many ways, Reel Paradise could be my story. The first time I arrived in Fiji my life was in complete transition. So I was completely open to all the joys and problems that come with Fiji. I experienced many of the misadventures, close friendships and odd occurrences that the Pearson's endured. This movie brilliantly captures the emotional struggles associated with painful choices and growth. I am loath to use pop psychology in my daily lexicon but I am sure the Pearson's did not realize they were indeed providing film viewers with a typical family's adjustment to life and all of its meltdowns. But with a twist. It isn't in some horrid American suburb but in a place so far away that most of its peoples were still living in bures only 40 years ago. This is why Reel Paradise is so special. I remember so vividly the first time I saw the star of the movie: the movie house itself. I was completely dumbfounded by such an odd sight. What was the story behind this old crumbling relic just beyond the international dateline? In fact the cinema was hardly in a village at all on an island far from Fiji's main island. It conjured up images of grey gardens --albeit one with kava, crime and conflicted relationships. Please experience Reel Paradise and know that this is as real as one may ever get to Fiji.

robototron This movie is well made. It's amusing. It is an interesting portrait of families, cultures, and their various clashes as well has harmonies. It has a bit of an arc to it - enough to keep it going.But this is no "Stevie" and it's no "Hoop Dreams," either. The true drama and tension and weight simply isn't there. What we have here is a wealthy and successful family attempting a sort of experiment. Yeah, it's meaningful; yeah, there are lessons to be learned; yeah, you care what happens. But it's not moving or powerful.Then again, let it be a testament to Steve James and how he skilled he is that he can take a REALLY scant subject like this and spin it into a doco worth watching. Still, I'd prefer it if he returned to the more weighty subjects

sweetwater1980 John Pierson's goal was to immortalize himself on film. Mission accomplished. However, this indie film was quite disturbing on several levels. John and Janet Pierson don't have the first clue on how to be parents. John came across in the film as emotionally immature, self centered, and arrogant. He and Janet were completely out of control as parents. They provided absolutely no guidance, structure, or direction to their children. The children were in control. The parents were not. Georgia, the daughter, was especially obnoxious and disrespectful. Their parental skills were so lacking that it was disturbing to watch. It was also disturbing to watch John Pierson's arrogance and total disregard for the Fijian people and their culture. He was such an Ugly American. He claims to disdain American culture. Why does he show American movies to the locals? Why does he behave so obnoxiously when he is a guest in another country? I have no use for Catholicism or the Catholic Church, but the church was a far better influence on the local people than the self absorbed antics of an idiot like John Pierson.Self promotion at its worst! Indie film-making at its worst!