Joey Magidson
There is no question that rapper turned filmmaker Logic loves Kevin Smith. One only has to watch a few frames of Paradise Records to see the Clerks influence. The visual language of the film is very Smith-coded, with Clerks homaged on numerous occasions, from a cameo all the way to the “if you plan to shoplift, let us know” sign. Now, Smith himself has said that Clerks is the movie that launched a thousand bad movies, which I actually feel speaks to how hard it is to pull off what Smith did that first time out. Well, Logic has managed to replicate that formula better than almost anyone else had, leading to an entertaining little flick. Playing at the Tribeca Festival, it’s the sort of charming comedy that should win over anyone predisposed to this sort of humor.
Paradise Records is a movie that wears its influences on its sleeve, but also its heart. Not all of the jokes land, but the comedy is more successful than not. Now, you do have to be alright with filthy dialogue and very few sacred cows, but that shouldn’t be a barrier to entry for most. What’s clear as day here is that the plight of the retail employee is still very fertile ground for young storytellers to play around in.
Cooper (Logic) is a record store owner who we meet with the store on the edge of foreclosure. In order to keep the shop running and his eccentric employees paid, he’s taken to sleeping in the back of the store. He spends his days bantering with employee/cousin T-man (Tramayne Hudson), where they make jokes/debate his biracial ethnicity. Part of the reason the store is in such debt is that when the pandemic hit, he insisted on paying T-man, Tables (Reed Northrup), and Melanie (Mary Elizabeth Kelly), resulting in $178,000 needing to be paid to the bank in short order or the store is theirs. Looming is an offer from a neighboring store owner to buy it out from under him, an offer that would mean the end of the good times and his friends no longer being employed, forcing him to hold out hope for a solution.
As Cooper deals with all of that, an unlikely situation outside results in the store being the center of a hostage situation. It’s there that some real conversations about the future of the store, as well as his friendships, take place. However, before that there’s a drop in by their zonked out drug dealer Slaydro (Tony Revolori), which ends up leading to Cooper meeting none other than Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) themselves.
The cast gives the dialogue and plot the loose style that it needs. Logic directs himself to a solid performance, though one that’s not showy in the slightest. Tramayne Hudson is the Jay to his not so silent Bob, getting the bigger performance material, though still showing some other sides to his role, preventing it from being one-note. They have really nice chemistry with each other, as with Reed Northrup and Mary Elizabeth Kelly, even if they don’t have quite as much to do. The supporting cast, in addition the Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith cameos, feature a range of surprising talent. There’s the aforementioned Tony Revolori, alongside Diedrich Bader, Kevin Corrigan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Krumholtz, Phil LaMarr, Bobby Lee, Justin Long, Ron Perlman, and Martin Starr, plus many more.
Logic makes his feature writing and directing debut here by homaging Kevin Smith. Smith is not just an influence here, he’s a collaborator, producing as well as editing the flick. Despite Paradise Records being very much in that style, this is not simply Clerks in a record store. The vibe is similar, but it’s filtered through Logic’s own interests. His script is sharper than his direction, leading to the film feeling a bit long, given the limited locations, but it ends up working. The third act is a real deviation and not as interesting as what’s come before, but being different does work in the movie’s favor, ultimately.
Paradise Records is not going to be for everyone, just like Smith’s work, but as a calling card for Logic, it offers up ample evidence that he’s a budding filmmaker to pay attention to. This is one of the better films at Tribeca that I’ve seen this year. Here’s hoping that Logic not just continues making movies, but can build on this debut, as he’s got something.
SCORE: ★★★
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