A Week in Paradise movie review

MOVIE TITLE: A Week in Paradise

This gentle romance hits theaters on Friday, February 11, 2022

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 1 hour 35 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

An international film star’s world collapses when her film director husband is outed by the paparazzi as having a baby with his new young leading lady. Seeking solace from a failed marriage, Maggie (Malin Akerman) escapes to the Caribbean to stay at her cousin Fiona’s (Connie Nielsen) secluded resort. After some much-needed recovery, she meets the resort’s charming chef, Sam (Philip Winchester), and begins to imagine a new life for herself just as her old one comes barging in.

The film was written by Kate Wood and directed by Philippe Martinez.

THINGS I LIKED:

This movie feels like a love letter to Malin Akerman. I’ve always liked her and she’s lovely in the movie. The director seems to really love filming her, as we get tons of close-up shots and screen time with her. It would be hard to know if people really liked you if you were a rich, famous movie star, right? It’s hard to feel sorry for a beautiful, rich, and famous person, but the character is so likable that you really do want to root for her.
Did you know Connie Nielsen is from Denmark? You can hear her accent quite a bit in this movie. Her look and accent are perfect in Wonder Woman I loved the supportive character she plays in this movie, always offering comforting, sensitive encouragement to her healing cousin.
You learn how to cut up papaya correctly from a handsome chef. This would be a fun movie to watch with a bunch of gal pals while sipping tropical drinks.
You’re definitely going to want to go on vacation to some tropical island after you watch this.
Little Daniel played by Alec James is totally adorable and so photogenic with his playful haircut.
A lot of women who have been cheated on will love being able to escape to a tropical island, imagining how that would feel in real life. Without knowing much about the cheating husband, we instantly hate him, leaving room in our minds that his wife is allowed to look for love elsewhere and leave him.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Not a fan of the soundtrack.
There are a lot of shots of Malin Akerman staring off into nothing or walking in slow motion.
Maggie (Malin Akerman’s character) says, ‘You know, if this were a movie, it would be that cliched romantic comedy moment.” – Maggie (Malin Akerman) Exactly. The movie’s story is super cliched and predictable.
I would have loved to have seen the protagonist’s recovery go through each of the levels of grief after the death of her marriage: shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger and bargaining, depression and loneliness, reconstruction, acceptance, and hope. Instead, she goes from sadness to flirting and sleeping with another guy in days.
I heard myself say, “Oh, brother” more than once while watching this. That’s not a good sign…for the movie, nor for my cynicism.
Super cheesy dialogue.
In the telling of a good story, the protagonist has to undergo an insurmountable challenge. We root for the character as he/she fights against the odds. In this story, we feel bad for the main character, but her struggle consists of drinking tropical drinks on an island and sleeping for a few days. She has a couple of unpleasant conversations with her husband and then she lives happily ever after. We don’t get to watch her battle and triumph, really.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Parents will be extremely bored.
Some profanity
Lots of cleavage
Men and women in bathing suits
Alcohol
You know an unmarried couple sleeps together, but you only see them kissing passionately

THEMES:

Healing
Friendship
Support
Grieving
Marriage
Infidelity
Trust

FUNNY LINES:

“When do I have time to read anything longer than a menu?” – Anna (Danielle Brown)

INTERESTING LINES:

“You know, I hate women who hurt other women.” – Fiona (Connie Nielsen)
‘You’re recovering from a broken heart. People used to die from those in the old days. For real.” – Fiona (Connie Nielsen)
“Tell me the world is not a wondrous place and life worth living. Truly.” – Fiona (Connie Nielsen)

Movie Review Mom GRADE: C

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