Fun City goes back to the ‘80s with a pair of extremely entertaining new releases, kicking it off with the amiable – and little-seen as the years have progressed – “Blue Lagoon” knockoff PARADISE (101 mins., 1982, R).
Phoebe Cates is the whole show here as a teenager traveling through the desert with her upper-crust companion when circumstances force her and a fellow teen – the moppy haired Willie Aames from “Eight is Enough” and later “Charles in Charge”– to fend for themselves. They eventually find an oasis – and one another – in a movie that pretty much plods save for the scenes where the couple “get it on” (scenes mostly enhanced with body doubles, allegedly). Stuart Gillard’s direction is serviceable and Adam Greenberg captures the Israeli locales vividly but the big story beyond the contrived and mostly dull story is Cates’ natural beauty, present and accounted for in a movie released around the same time her career took off with “Fast Times At Ridgemont High.”
Released through Avco Embassy, “Paradise” has been scarcely distributed over the decades since. Fun City’s restoration offers a cut that’s slightly longer than the version that played in U.S. theaters with two different soundtracks: one which includes (too many) drops of Cates’ (horrific) pop ballad “Paradise,” and another “pre-release” mix that offers more of Paul Hoffert’s original score before the song was inserted into the film (note an isolated score track is also included). The transfer (1.85) is beautifully detailed and pleasing across all fronts, typical for Fun City, with promotional materials (radio spots, trailers, image gallery) and a commentary by Nathaniel Thompson included on the supplemental end.
Also new from Fun City is HEAVENLY BODIES (90 mins., 1984, R), a Canadian-lensed production released by Producers Sales Organization and MGM/UA which looked to cash in on the “Flashdance” craze. In reality, this modestly-budgeted movie is a cheerful little “inspirational drama” involving secretary and single mom Cynthia Dale, who wants to become a local workout queen. Her efforts pay off, but when a nasty developer decides to usurp her blossoming business, she challenges him and his group to a dancing competition that offers shades of “They Shoot Olivia Newton-John Wannabes, Don’t They?”
“Heavenly Bodies” is one of the most benign R-rated films possibly ever made. Outside a couple of “steamy montages” this is a squeaky-clean film – shot in under three weeks – that offers scant dramatic development of its plot or stylized visual trappings. What it does offer is an upbeat “underdog story” with heroine Dale, who’s quite fetching here, doing all she can to maintain a level of enthusiasm from start to end. Loads of musical interludes help the movie hit the 90-minute running time, and you might be searching for dusty old Jane Fonda/Richard Simmons workout videos in your parents’ closet before it’s all over.
Another picture that’s been barely seen since its mid ‘80s theatrical run and home video release (on the CBS/Fox imprint label “Key Video,” the artwork of which is paid homage to here), “Heavenly Bodies” makes a most welcome return to the world of the cinematic living with Fun City’s Blu-Ray. Not to be confused with the much worse “Hard Bodies,” the movie offers a new 1080p (1.85) transfer with a wide 2.0 DTS MA stereo mix and extras including an interview with Cynthia Dale, image gallery, and a commentary by Millie De Chirico and Jeffrey Mixed.
Both Fun City releases also contain booklet notes housed in a replica of a typical ‘80s pay-cable TV magazine.
