''Paradise, Texas'' is a 2006 family drama film directed by

Lorraine Senna Lorraine Senna (sometimes credited as Lorraine Senna Ferrara) is an American film and television director. Career As a television director, her credits include ''Dynasty (1981 TV series), Dynasty'', ''Emerald Point N.A.S.'', ''Trapper John, M. ...

and starring

Timothy Bottoms Timothy James Bottoms (born August 30, 1951) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead in ''Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971); Sonny Crawford in ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), where he and his fellow co-stars, Cy ...

, Ben Estus, and

Meredith Baxter Meredith Ann Baxter (born June 21, 1947) is an American actress and Film producer, producer. She is known for her roles on the CBS sitcom ''Bridget Loves Bernie'' (1972–73), American Broadcasting Company, ABC drama series ''Family (1976 TV ser ...

. Premiering at the 2006 WorldFest Film Festival, ''Paradise, Texas'' received a Gold Remi Award. After a

limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

, the film was made available on DVD in October 2006.

Plot

The film follows aging, overworked actor Mack Cameron (Timothy Bottoms) as he struggles to keep up with the demands of career and family life. Cameron accepts a lead role in a

low-budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

despite schedule conflicts with a major movie role he's lined up for, because it will be filmed in his small hometown of Littleton,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Cameron sees the project as an opportunity to mend fraying relationships with his wife, Liz (Meredith Baxter), and sons Tyler ( Dylan Michael Patton) and Joe (Emilio Mazur). Cameron's frustration boils over when he learns he has been removed from his role in the upcoming

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

because of his decision to work close to home. Cameron lashes out at the people around him, further alienating his family and wreaking havoc on the set. Cameron's child co-star, CJ Kinney (Ben Estus) is particularly affected. CJ's desire for a performing career alienates him from his peers and family, especially from his overbearing father Cal (Brandon Smith). Interaction with CJ inspires Cameron to re-assess his priorities; ultimately, he opts to put his family and life in his hometown ahead of his career.

Cast

as Mack Cameron * Ben Estus as CJ Kinney *

as Liz Cameron *

Sheryl Lee Sheryl Lynn Lee (born April 22, 1967) is a German-born American film, stage, and television actress. After studying acting in college, Lee relocated to Seattle, Washington to work in theater, where she was cast by David Lynch as Laura Palmer and ...

as Betsy Kinney *

Polly Bergen Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan in ''The Helen Mo ...

as Beverly Cameron *

Rider Strong Rider King Strong (born December 11, 1979) is an American actor, producer, director and screenwriter. He is best known for starring as Shawn Hunter on the ABC sitcom ''Boy Meets World'' (1993–2000), which he reprised in its sequel series ''Girl ...

as Charlie * Brandon Smith as Cal Kinney *

Connie Cooper The following women have appeared in the American or international edition of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month. Those who were also named Playmate of the Year are highlighted in green. A common misconception is that Marilyn Monroe wa ...

as Martha Neering * Dylan Michael Patton as Tyler Cameron * Emilio Mazur as Joe Cameron * Dallas Kiser as Melody Kinney * Ricky Guzman as Student * J. Pittman McGehee as Farmer

Production

Developed under the working title ''On the Rocks'', the film was directed by Lorraine Senna and written by Joe Conway, Tom Asina and Stephen Brian Dowdall. Most shooting was done on location in a small town outside of Houston for added realism. The

William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent a ...

attempted distribution of the film, with limited success. The film premiered at the

Angelika Film Center Angelika Film Center is a movie theater chain in the United States that features independent and foreign films. It operates theaters in New York City, Texas, Washington, D.C., California and Virginia. Its headquarters are in New York City. Histor ...

at the opening night of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

's WorldFest Film Festival on April 21, 2006, and followed with a one-week run there. It continued with a brief run at Angelika's Dallas theater. The film was released to

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on October 27, 2006.

Critical reception

''Paradise, Texas'' won a Gold Remi Award at the 2006 WorldFest Film Festival. It received mixed reviews from film critics, who praised the film's cast, but dismissed the script as "cliche-ridden" and "contrived". Senna's direction was offered praise, (some of it backhanded). More broadly, the film's warmth led it to be seen as a success, measured against the standards of the family-oriented audience for which it was presumably intended. Three out of four

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

ratings for the film were positive.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paradise, Texas Films shot in Houston American independent films 2006 directorial debut films 2006 films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2006 independent films