Another Day in Paradise

Based on the novel by ex-convict Eddie Little, the obviously ironically-titled "Paradise" is another grim, gritty and in-your-face walk on the wild and sordid side from Larry Clark, the celebrated and controversial photographer (Tulsa) and director (Kids). Vincent Kartheiser (filmed by Clark as a poster boy for heroin chic) stars as Bobby, a teenage vending machine thief forced to go on the lam after he stabs the security guard who catches him in mid-heist. Enter "Uncle" Mel (James Woods), a "junkie and a real good thief" who recruits him "to graduate from the world of screwdrivers and vending machines to some really serious larceny." Bobby and his girl Rosie (an unconvincing Natasha Gregson Wagner) join Mel and his partner in crime and drugs, Sid (a game but miscast Melanie Griffith). "We are not Ozzie and Harriet," she remarks. No kidding. This film is a real downer, but Woods gives the film a rush whenever he's onscreen. An optional purchase. (K. Lee Benson)