Review by James Lindorf
Christmas time is also the time of year that people typically think about Hallmark movies. They can be old-fashioned, they are cheesy, most likely schmaltzy, but their familiarity provides good vibes. It has been another long year, and if you don’t want to wait another three months, Vertical Entertainment’s newest release, “Saving Paradise,” will definitely fill the hole in your life when it hits select theaters and On-Demand platforms everywhere on September 3rd.
Michael Peterson (William Moseley) is a 30 something corporate raider who ruthlessly buys companies cheap before selling them to overseas buyers at a significant profit. His father, Don (Lawrence Pressman), is the owner of Peterson Pencil USA and the most loved man in Paradise, Pennsylvania. After Don suffers a fatal heart attack on the factory floor, Michael must return to the small town he would rather forget to inherit the factory. In its favor, the factory produces nearly half of all pencils made in the country. It is also the heart and soul of a depressed community. But below the surface, everything isn’t as ideal as Michael could hope. The company’s CFO, Charlie (Johanna Braddy), and Michael have a troubled romantic history. Even worse, the plant is nearly bankrupt. Thanks to Don’s poor business skills, Michael is left with two choices with his mother’s home on the line. Spurn the community and sell the factory to the highest bidder or join Charlie and the community’s fight to save their way of life.
The story works out pretty much the way you would expect. The jerk comes back to town and is forced to confront the people and the memories he ran away from and learns life lessons along the way. Movies like “Saving Paradise” are less about breaking new ground and more about providing a comforting environment where the story washes over you. Moseley and Braddy stand out as actors in this film and the genre. They bring depth to their performances that aren’t always there on the page. With a change in luck, Moseley could easily have Charlie Hunnam’s career based on his talent and looks. The rest of the cast is filled with faces people should recognize, like Mary Pat Gleason (Intolerable Cruelty), Shashawnee Hall (Friend Request), Paul Dooley (Sixteen Candles), and Bill Cobbs (Demolition Man). My favorite performance after the top two was from relative newcomer George Steeves. Steeves plays fact-spouting mail clerk Walter who is the first one to befriend Michael after his return.
“Saving Paradise” is charming but a bit melodramatic at points whenever the mystery of why Michael left town is mentioned. It adds next to nothing to the story and is the least successful element in the film. You can be a jerk without something tragic in your past. Maybe Michael just prefers cash and Jaguars over personal connections. In the end, it is a minor quibble, and it is overwhelmed by the goodwill generated during the rest of the film. Fans of this style of film should be delighted by the story and the performances. While it may not be in the same league as great movies, it is highly successful at what it wants to do, earning “Saving Paradise” a 3.75 out of 5.
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Director: Jay Silverman
Producer: Bethany Cerrona, William Newman
Writer: Van Billet
Release Date: September 3rd, 2021
Runtime: 1h 30m
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment
Production Co: Jay Silverman Productions
