OllieSuave-007 This is a heartfelt drama starring Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, who play couple Lily and Ben Reed, who having experienced a family tragedy. With their love for each other on the rocks, their relationship may be rekindled with the visit of young Willard Young (Elijah Wood).The title "Paradise" is fitting for this movie, as it is filmed in the quiet countryside by the lake, making you forget your troubles and inner-demons, which is exactly what Lily and Ben are trying to do in the story. Many people live seemingly happy lives, but are still haunted by past mishaps, missed opportunities and mistakes. However, it is when you live and learn and let go could you enjoy the many blessings life has to offer in the present time, elements which is beautifully depicted in this film.Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson had great on-screen chemistry and young Elijah Wood did a heartwarming job in his Williard Young role. The story is a little slow at times, but the overall message of letting go and enjoying the finest things in life (in a Paradise setting) would resonate in your mind and make you appreciate this film.Grade B+

Pepper Anne This is a pretty good drama about several people dealing with difficult problems. At the center of the story is Williard Young (Elijah Wood), a lonely little boy who is sent to his mother's friend's house for summer vacation in a quiet, small town.There has been a quiet, untouched bubble of emotional problems among the residences of the town who are the main characters of the story. And Williard's visit seems to make the bubble burst and each is forced to finally confront the problems they had been hiding for so long.Primarily, that is between the Reeds, the people who Williard is staying with. Lily Reed (Melanie Griffith) is the quiet, fragile type, damaged by the death of their infant son some time ago, creating a pain in her heart that she had never been quite able to get rid of. And it seems as though, it is not something she wants to let go or to stop blaming herself for. This decision, unfortunately, keeps her apart from her husband, Ben Reed (Griffith's then-husband, Don Johnson [hubba hubba]) who can't seem to get close to his wife, and has become bitter in his many unsuccessful attempts.Williard's presence, however brings them together, since both Lily and Ben, enjoy his company once they warm up to him, of course. He is like the surrogate son type. Though their relationship with Williard is often shared separately, Williard tries what he can to bring the two together once and for all, because he knows that they still love each other. They just don't know how to get over the past and get their lives back together again. It takes an awful lot of coaxing and some teary moments, of course. Melanie Griffith pulls out all the stops for this role, as does Don Johnson. And it works quite wonderfully because you can really see how much their son's death really effected them, especially Lily. The summer vacation with the Reeds is a sort of therapy for Williard, too. In part, his next door neighbor Billie Pike (Thora Birch) is one of the few friends he has aside from the Reeds and his time with her is a good lesson in the pangs of childhood like dealing with self-esteem, and learning the truth about his legendary father. It is an all around good drama. The story has a lot going on, and all of the actors, especially Wood and Griffith push things along quite nicely. You never get into too much rambling dialogue, and a story with children often entertains with little subplots of mischief while providing the comic relief to this teary (but not overly sentimental) movie.

obi-3 I remember Siskel & Ebert giving this film a thumbs down. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it, and how moved I was by the story. Don & Melanie are wonderful together. A bit slow moving in the story department but more than makes up for it with emotion and heart.

Vandal-2 When I saw Paradise for the first time, I wasn't expecting much.However, not only is paradise gorgeously filmed, its heart-wrenching story is beautifully filmed and acted. No other movie I've ever seen speaks so clearly about the pain of losing a child--and what it can do to the marriage of the surviving parents (statistics show that most marriages end shortly after in divorce).And best of all, hooray for the true message of the film, that love conquers all! Paradise is definitely one of my top-ten favorite films of all time.I wasn't a fan of either Don Johnson or Melanie Griffith before seeing Paradise, but the film completely turned me around on both counts. Someone out there, please give Don Johnson some more dramatic roles!