Exit to Eden

Year: 1994

Grade: D-

Country: USA

Director: Marshall

Review

penny marshall’s brother directs here. his best picture is pretty woman, but other than that he seems to specialize in making bad movies geared towards female audiences. this one is based off of what i can only assume to be an awful novel by anne rice. so why did i watch it? my dad said it may be the worst film he’s ever seen. it wasn’t that bad. it was awful and a bore to watch, but it wasn’t as offensive and to the senses and difficult to get through as xxx2: state of the union or gigli. the voice-over narration was trite, lazy and a poor artistic decision. the acting was bad. the script tried, but failed. and the pairing of the cops undercover with the bondage island getaway was neither comic nor compelling. dan aykroyd was bad and rosie o’donnell was worse. seeing her in dominatrix garb was unpleasant. she likely took the role for one of two reasons: 1) money, or 2) the last line: “so what did i learn from this case? true love is still the ultimate fantasy.” knowing what we know now, maybe that supposed message of the story appealed to her. who knows. it’s a fine message, but it’s no excuse to be in a film this bad. as for dan aykroyd…i haven’t the slightest clue as to why he would bother with this one. sad. p.s. o’donnell won a razzie award in 1995 for her supporting role in this picture.