SCTV meets Robin Williams in this 1986 romp set on the fictional island of St. Nicholas, directed and co-written by the late Harold Ramis. Though Williams doesn't smoke pot in Club Paradise, it's his one true stoner movie.
Burned out from fighting fires in Chicago, Jack (Williams) travels to the Caribbean, where he meets Phillippa (Twiggy) and partners with Ernest (Jimmy Cliff) to revive a rundown resort. But in typical Ramis fashion (see Caddyshack), a developer and a corrupt government official scheme to grab the beachfront property.
Tourists soon come; among them are SCTV vets Andrea Martin (Linda), Rick Moranis (Barry) and Eugene Levy (Barry). The Barrys are two of the most bumbling stoners in film history. To impress the babes, these wild and crazy guys try to cop some "primo cannabis sativa" so they can get "totally demented" and "stoned out of our gourds."
'We're looking for Johnny - smokes, jays, joints, buzz!'
They ultimately score a huge bag of weed, but not before hopping in a plane and tossing it overboard, right into the bonfire on the beach.
When police besiege the club, Jack and Ernest take a stand, winning out in the end.
Reggae fans will enjoy several live performances by Cliff (" You Can't Keep a Good Man Down") and the Cliff-Elvis Costello collaboration on "Seven-Day Weekend" over the credits.
Williams is solid as Jack, who never looks back and instead gets the girl and the club.
Parts of this review are excerpted from Reefer Movie Madness: The Ultimate Stoner Film Guide by Steve Bloom and Shirley Halperin.
