In Fool’s Paradise, Charlie Day plays a mentally damaged individual, whose name is unknown though ultimately goes by the name, Latte Pronto (At least, in Hollywood). After losing his understanding of the world, he has lost his ability to speak, and soon, gets kicked out of his mental health care facility for lacking insurance.
Getting sent on a bus downtown, a chance encounter with Ray Liotta’s character, a Hollywood producer type, sees an immediate desire to hire Day as a fill-in double. Why so, is revealed because ‘Pronto” is the spitting image of a separate movie star (also, played by Day), who is too drunk to finish shooting scenes in his latest Western.
Before long, The Fool/Latte Pronto becomes a movie star in his own right. The resulting movie adventure of Pronto’s rise and fall, along with his publicist (played by Ken Jeong), make the heart of Fool’s Paradise. A film that in many ways, mirrors a Don Quixote type of adventure with a dash of mistaken identity in a Charlie Chaplinesque Hollywood parody.
The film features a rather large ensemble cast. In addition to Day is Liotta and Jeong, Fool’s Paradise will also feature appearances from actors Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, Common, Edie Falco, Jillian Bell, Dean Norris, Jimmi Simpson, and John Malkovich.
Now, while this amalgam of subgenres may feel excessive, in many ways like an episode of It’s Always Sunny, it’s also that stupid brilliance of blending it that got us films such as Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. Fool’s Paradise seems just as much about the absurdity of Hollywood, in much as it is, paying a love letter to it.
Fool’s Paradise is written and directed by Charlie Day, who has been on a spree of hits lately. The actor just appeared as Luigi in the most recent, Mario movie.
