Trapped in Paradise
Encyclopedia
Trapped in Paradise is a 1994 Christmas-themed crime
comedy film
written and directed by George Gallo
, and starring Nicolas Cage
, Jon Lovitz
, and Dana Carvey
.
time. Bill Firpo (Nicolas Cage
) is a restaurant manager, who gets an unpleasant Christmas gift; his brothers Dave (Jon Lovitz
) and Alvin (Dana Carvey
) are parol
ed early due to overcrowding. Dave and Alvin ask Bill to go to Paradise, Pennsylvania
to do a favor for a fellow inmate of theirs. Bill only agrees after getting tied to a robbery their brothers made. When they discover a bank
that is light on security, Bill feels the urge to rob
it if he had a gun. Fortunately, there are guns in the car Dave and Alvin borrowed. The wife of the bank's president (Angela Paton) tells them that the bank safe door is locked and the president, Mr. Clifford Anderson (Donald Moffat
) who has the key is having lunch in the restaurant nearby. Alvin and Bill charge into the restaurant and call in a robbery. They order all customers to come with Bill over to the bank so that no one calls the police when they go. Mr. Anderson opens the safe's door and Bill checks for motion sensors via a perfume
. He steps over the sensors gets the money but while getting out of the safe he touches the sensors via one of the money bag
s. Bill and Dave rush out of the bank and get away with their crime, stealing $275,000.
While trying to get out of town with their car and stolen money, Alvin ,who's driving, gets them lost. A police car
turns on the sirens and they try to evade getting caught. Because the car, an Infiniti
, has no snow chains
it drifts over a bridge and gets wrecked. The police officer does not see them crash and drives past the bridge, but another car stops and offers them a ride. Due to the interstates being closed the man takes them to his relatives to stay over for Christmas. After arriving at the house, they find out it is the house of bank president Mr. Anderson. However, the relatives don't recognize them because they were covering their faces with ski masks while robbing the bank.
The inmate who gave Dave and Alvin the tip about the low security of this bank gets enraged that they robbed the bank and gets out of jail. He takes their mother, Edna (Florence Stanley
) hostage
and threatens to kill her unless they give him the stolen money.
Bill gets bus tickets and while getting out the police asks him to open the bag he is carrying with him, which contains all of the money. Bill tricks the police through shooting rounds in the air making the crowd run around and gets away with his bag. However, they miss their bus. They then try to get away via a boat
. The boat is headed towards a waterfall
and Alvin falls into the water. The town people pull Alvin out of water and rescue him through CPR.
Alvin steals a horse carriage from one of the police officers' sons. The police chase the carriage but after they drive into the forest
the police cars were unable to continue the chase. They ditch the horse carriage and decide to hitchhike. However, the horse gets pulled into the water making them save it and go to a motel
instead. There Bill and Alvin decide to return the money to the bank while Dave refuses, knowing that their mother would be killed if they do so. Bill, who is unaware that his mother is a hostage, proceeds to return the money and asks strangers for a ride to Paradise. By coincidence, he winds up getting a ride with the people who are holding his mother hostage. Bill shows them his mother's picture, whereupon the driver tries to shoot him so he can get the money Bill has in the bag. Bill jumps out of the car and escapes.
They try to get the money back into the bank but trigger the alarm through using the wrong safe door key. They give then the money to a church
with a letter requesting to return it to the town's people. Trying to get away the people who sold them the ski masks before the robbery recognize them and want the money for themselves, therefore go with them to the Anderson house finding the two inmates there holding guns and threatening to kill everyone if they don't get the money.
The police sees license plates in front of the Anderson house of a stolen car and order therefore the inmates to come out with their hands held up. While the inmates are busy figuring out what to do they get attacked where one loses his gun and the other gets shot. The police rush into the house and take everyone to the office. There the FBI tries to figure out what happened and because the town's people hide what they know about Bill, Alvin, and Dave and the church pastor
returns the money to the police, they release them. Bill stays in Paradise to be with Sarah Collins (Mädchen Amick
) a tenant of the Anderson's and Alvin and Dave return with their mother to New York
.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written and directed by George Gallo
George Gallo
George Gallo Jr is an American screenwriter, film director, producer, painter and musician.He is best known for writing Midnight Run and 29th Street, and is an accomplished painter in the style of the Pennsylvania Impressionists...
, and starring Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
, Jon Lovitz
Jon Lovitz
Jonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
, and Dana Carvey
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
.
Plot
It's ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time. Bill Firpo (Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
) is a restaurant manager, who gets an unpleasant Christmas gift; his brothers Dave (Jon Lovitz
Jon Lovitz
Jonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
) and Alvin (Dana Carvey
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
) are parol
Parol
Parols are ornamental star-like Christmas lanterns from the Philippines. They are traditionally made out of bamboo and paper and come in various sizes, shapes and designs; however, their star-shape façade and basic design remain dominant....
ed early due to overcrowding. Dave and Alvin ask Bill to go to Paradise, Pennsylvania
Paradise, Pennsylvania
Paradise is a census-designated place in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States with a zip code of 17562. The population was 1,028 at the 2000 census....
to do a favor for a fellow inmate of theirs. Bill only agrees after getting tied to a robbery their brothers made. When they discover a bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
that is light on security, Bill feels the urge to rob
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
it if he had a gun. Fortunately, there are guns in the car Dave and Alvin borrowed. The wife of the bank's president (Angela Paton) tells them that the bank safe door is locked and the president, Mr. Clifford Anderson (Donald Moffat
Donald Moffat
Donald Moffat is an English-born actor, now a naturalized American citizen.-Early life:Moffat was born in Plymouth, Devon, the only child of Kathleen Mary and Walter George Moffat, who was an insurance agent. His parents ran a boarding house in Totnes...
) who has the key is having lunch in the restaurant nearby. Alvin and Bill charge into the restaurant and call in a robbery. They order all customers to come with Bill over to the bank so that no one calls the police when they go. Mr. Anderson opens the safe's door and Bill checks for motion sensors via a perfume
Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
. He steps over the sensors gets the money but while getting out of the safe he touches the sensors via one of the money bag
Money bag
A money bag is a bag of money used to hold and transport coins and banknotes from/to a mint, bank, ATM, milled, business, or other institution...
s. Bill and Dave rush out of the bank and get away with their crime, stealing $275,000.
While trying to get out of town with their car and stolen money, Alvin ,who's driving, gets them lost. A police car
Police car
A police car is a ground vehicle used by police, to assist with their duties in patrolling and responding to incidents. Typical uses of a police car include transportation for officers to reach the scene of an incident quickly, to transport criminal suspects, or to patrol an area, while providing a...
turns on the sirens and they try to evade getting caught. Because the car, an Infiniti
Infiniti
is the luxury division of automaker Nissan. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989 in North America. Marketing operations have since grown to include the Middle East, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, China, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Infiniti began sales in additional...
, has no snow chains
Snow chains
Snow chains, or tire chains, are devices fitted to the tires of vehicles to provide maximum traction when driving through snow and ice....
it drifts over a bridge and gets wrecked. The police officer does not see them crash and drives past the bridge, but another car stops and offers them a ride. Due to the interstates being closed the man takes them to his relatives to stay over for Christmas. After arriving at the house, they find out it is the house of bank president Mr. Anderson. However, the relatives don't recognize them because they were covering their faces with ski masks while robbing the bank.
The inmate who gave Dave and Alvin the tip about the low security of this bank gets enraged that they robbed the bank and gets out of jail. He takes their mother, Edna (Florence Stanley
Florence Stanley
Florence Stanley was an American actress of stage, film, and television.-Early life and career:Florence Stanley was born as Florence Schwartz in Chicago, the daughter of Hanna and Jack Schwartz. She began a long career on stage, film and TV starting in the 1940s...
) hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
and threatens to kill her unless they give him the stolen money.
Bill gets bus tickets and while getting out the police asks him to open the bag he is carrying with him, which contains all of the money. Bill tricks the police through shooting rounds in the air making the crowd run around and gets away with his bag. However, they miss their bus. They then try to get away via a boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
. The boat is headed towards a waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
and Alvin falls into the water. The town people pull Alvin out of water and rescue him through CPR.
Alvin steals a horse carriage from one of the police officers' sons. The police chase the carriage but after they drive into the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
the police cars were unable to continue the chase. They ditch the horse carriage and decide to hitchhike. However, the horse gets pulled into the water making them save it and go to a motel
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
instead. There Bill and Alvin decide to return the money to the bank while Dave refuses, knowing that their mother would be killed if they do so. Bill, who is unaware that his mother is a hostage, proceeds to return the money and asks strangers for a ride to Paradise. By coincidence, he winds up getting a ride with the people who are holding his mother hostage. Bill shows them his mother's picture, whereupon the driver tries to shoot him so he can get the money Bill has in the bag. Bill jumps out of the car and escapes.
They try to get the money back into the bank but trigger the alarm through using the wrong safe door key. They give then the money to a church
Local church
A local church is a Christian congregation of members and clergy.Local church may also refer to:* Local churches , a Christian group based on the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and associated with the Living Stream Ministry publishing house.* Parish church, a local church united with...
with a letter requesting to return it to the town's people. Trying to get away the people who sold them the ski masks before the robbery recognize them and want the money for themselves, therefore go with them to the Anderson house finding the two inmates there holding guns and threatening to kill everyone if they don't get the money.
The police sees license plates in front of the Anderson house of a stolen car and order therefore the inmates to come out with their hands held up. While the inmates are busy figuring out what to do they get attacked where one loses his gun and the other gets shot. The police rush into the house and take everyone to the office. There the FBI tries to figure out what happened and because the town's people hide what they know about Bill, Alvin, and Dave and the church pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
returns the money to the police, they release them. Bill stays in Paradise to be with Sarah Collins (Mädchen Amick
Mädchen Amick
Mädchen Amick is an American actress best known for playing Shelly Johnson on the cult television series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.-Early life:...
) a tenant of the Anderson's and Alvin and Dave return with their mother to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Cast
- Nicolas CageNicolas CageNicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
... Bill Firpo - Jon LovitzJon LovitzJonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
... Dave Firpo - Dana CarveyDana CarveyDana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
... Alvin Firpo - Mädchen AmickMädchen AmickMädchen Amick is an American actress best known for playing Shelly Johnson on the cult television series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.-Early life:...
... Sarah Collins - Florence StanleyFlorence StanleyFlorence Stanley was an American actress of stage, film, and television.-Early life and career:Florence Stanley was born as Florence Schwartz in Chicago, the daughter of Hanna and Jack Schwartz. She began a long career on stage, film and TV starting in the 1940s...
... Edna 'Ma' Firpo - Donald MoffatDonald MoffatDonald Moffat is an English-born actor, now a naturalized American citizen.-Early life:Moffat was born in Plymouth, Devon, the only child of Kathleen Mary and Walter George Moffat, who was an insurance agent. His parents ran a boarding house in Totnes...
... Clifford Anderson - Angela Paton ... Hattie Anderson
- Vic ManniVic ManniVictor Manni was hired by film producer Don Simpson as a bodyguard in the 1980s after he was threatened by the Mafia. Simpson helped Manni start an acting career, usually playing tough characters. Manni has appeared in such movies as Trapped in Paradise, Ali and Beverly Hills Cop...
... Vic Mazzucci - Frank Pesce ... Caesar Spinoza
- John AshtonJohn AshtonJohn Ashton may refer to:* John Ashton , American actor* John Ashton , Australian Anglican bishop* John Ashton , British Special Representative for Climate Change...
... Ed Dawson - John Bergantine ... Clovis Minor
- Sean McCannSean McCannSean McCann may refer to:* Sean McCann , Lieutenant General and Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, succeeding Dermot Earley* Sean McCann , Canadian television actor...
... Chief Bernie Burnell - Richard JenkinsRichard JenkinsRichard Dale Jenkins is an American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his film debut in 1974, and appeared in supporting roles in numerous film productions in the 1980s and the 1990s. His breakthrough came in the 2000s for playing the deceased...
... Agent Shaddus Peyser - Paul Lazar ... Deputy Timmy Burnell
- Sean O'BryanSean O'BryanSean O'Bryan is an American film and television actor.-Career:O'Bryan has guest-starred on such television series as MacGyver, Cold Case, Quantum Leap, Murder, She Wrote, Chicago Hope, Roseanne, Six Feet Under, Criminal Minds, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Dexter, Bones, and the middle. He...
... Dick Anderson - Gerard ParkesGerard ParkesGerard Parkes is an Irish Canadian actor who was born in Dublin, Ireland, and moved to Canada in 1956. His acting career has spanned film, radio, television, and the stage...
... Father Gorenzel - Richard B. ShullRichard B. ShullRichard Bruce Shull was an American character actor.-Career:Shull was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Zana Marie , a court stenographer, and Ulysses Homer Shull, a manufacturing executive. Shull attended the University of Iowa and served in the U.S. Army before starting his Broadway career...
... Father Ritter - Jack Heller ... Chief Parole Officer
- Mike Steiner ... Monty Dealer
- Blanca Jansuzian ... Shopkeeper
- Greg Ellwand ... Cop #1
- Kirk Dunn ... Cop #2
- Cherie Ewing ... Woman in Restaurant
- Jeff Levine ... Man in Restaurant
- Sandra MyersSandra MyersSandra Myers is a retired 400 metres sprinter who represented Spain after switching from the United States. She became US champion in 400 metres in 1981, but received Spanish nationality in 1987 and competed for Spain since...
... Diner #3 - Frank Berardino ... Diner #4
- MabelMabelMabel is an English female given name derived from the Latin amabilis, "lovable, dear". Amabilis of Riom was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering the priesthood: his veneration may have resulted in Amabilis being used as a female as well as male name...
... Merlin - SargeSargeSarge may refer to:* Sergeant, a military or police rank. Often shortened and used a term of endearment used out of familiarity. Sometimes heard as "Big Sarge", a further term of affection and endearment...
... Merlin - Andrew MillerAndrew Miller (actor)Andrew Miller is a Canadian actor, writer, and director.- Career :Miller began his career as an actor at age 16 in Toronto, Canada. Early theater roles include Moritz Stiefel in Frank Wedekind's Spring Awakening and Eugene Morris Jerome in Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs...
... Deputy Myers - Frank Blanch ... Rutag Guard
- Vivian Reis ... Lila
Production
- Filming was done in Ontario, Canada at Niagara-on-the-LakeNiagara-on-the-Lake, OntarioNiagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA...
. - It is said that production was very unpleasant. Actor Jon Lovitz metioned the crew began referring to the film as "Trapped in Bullshit".