Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Guest House Paradiso Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 21, 2023

There’s a very specific audience for 1999’s “Guest House Paradiso,” which is aimed directly at fans of actors Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmundson. The comedy duo won hearts and minds with their work on British television, co-starring on “The Young Ones” and taking leading roles in “Bottom,” delighting viewers with their fondness for slapstick comedy and general anarchy. “Guest House Paradiso” brings the boys to the big screen in what appears to be a spin-off of “Bottom,” with “Richie & Eddie” giving their act a cinematic makeover, looking to go long-form with their interests in shenanigans. Those in the know might be a bit more receptive to the madness contained in “Guest House Paradiso,” which certainly wins points for madcap timing and an endless appetite for the ridiculous. Actual laughs involving any of this weirdness is up for debate, but Mayall and Edmundson aren’t phoning it in with this offering of high-speed nonsense.

It's a new day at the Guest House Paradiso, and hotel manager Richie Twat (Rik Mayhall) is ready to make the hospitality experience miserable for his guests. He’s joined by Eddie (Adrian Edmundson), his pal and partner, with the pair working to maintain business while doing nothing for the people who choose to stay at the seaside establishment, located right next door to the Merrytown Blossom nuclear power plant. Richie and Eddie are incompetent men with criminal interests, happy to rummage through guest rooms and luggage, targeting the likes of Mr. Johnson (Bill Nighy), Mr. Barker (James D’Arcy), and Mr. Nice (Simon Pegg), who’s come to enjoy a fetish getaway with his wife. Complicating the weekend is the arrival of Gina (Helene Mahieu), a popular Italian actress trying to escape from the press after running away from her wedding day. Her presence delights Richie and Eddie, but trouble comes for the hoteliers when Gina’s jilted betrothed, Gino (Vincent Cassel), arrives to claim her.

Silent comedy stylings are served up early in “Guest House Paradiso,” tracking Richie’s morning rituals at the hotel, which involves peeping on the guests as they sleep. Eddie is nowhere around, setting up a recording system to keep his partner comforted while he’s out on a runaway motorcycle, getting in some sleep, urinating, and dodging doom while speeding his way back to the property. Liveliness is immediately established in the feature (the script is co-written by Mayall and Edmundson, with the latter also directing), which quickly transitions to guest relations, as Richie is quick to battle Mr. Johnson and his lover over breakfast options (there are none), and Mrs. Foxfur (Fenella Fielding) is a daffy old woman secretly fleeced by the owners, kept woozy with shots of sherry. There’s a chef from Romania held against his will, and the men in charge aren’t exactly cozy, quick to brawling in scenes that look to make the most out of Mayall and Edmundson’s love of physical comedy.

Craziness is immediate in “Guest House Paradiso,” and the feature gets surprisingly far without much of a plot, sticking with Richie and Eddie’s interactions with the guests. Mr. Nice and his suitcase of fetish items supports much of the movie’s insanity, with Richie crawling around the innards of the building to invade rooms and steal evidence. The writing is also fond of sticking Richie in tight spaces for laughs, with the boob caught in an oven and a nightstand during the run time. Mayall and Edmondson run at top speed in the picture, which is certainly something to see, working themselves into a frenzy to sell visual gags and one-liners, occasionally breaking the fourth wall to entertain themselves. Some ideas are amusing, including repeated battles with timed lights, and Richie and Eddie’s use of a fishing hook to snag an incriminating video tape in Mr. Nice’s room is a fine set piece full of absurdity. The rest of the feature doesn’t hit many highs, spending too much time on dud scenes, utterly reliant on Mayall and Edmundson to carry the mood with their unrepentant (and unrelenting) mugging.

Guest House Paradiso Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.40:1 aspect ratio) presentation is sourced from a 4K scan of the 35mm interpositive. Detail is appreciable, offering a sense of skin particulars on the actors, and costuming is fibrous, including rubbery fetish gear. Hotel interiors are dimensional and decrepit, and exteriors retain some distance, but are softly shot. Colors are vibrant, especially with hotel signage and the vomit-spraying finale, which delivers bold greens. Strange hues, such as sex toy pink and blazing red underwear, register as intended. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is nicely resolved. Source is in good condition.

Guest House Paradiso Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix offers a playful listening experience for "Guest House Paradiso." Dialogue exchanges are prioritized, with a crisp understanding of performances and comedic extremes. Scoring is just as active, supporting slapstick antics with clear instrumentation. Surrounds push out some musical mood, also playing with room elements, adding some mild panning and separation effects to the track. Low-end events are limited, but some physical gags and fiery incidents register nicely.

Guest House Paradiso Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "The Making of 'Guest House Paradiso'" (37:27. SD) is an archival featurette on the production experience of the picture, featuring interviews with co-writer/actor Rik Mayall, co-writer/actor/director Adrian Edmondson, producer Phil McIntyre, and actors Simon Pegg, Fenella Fielding, and Helen Mahieu. Aiming to do something slightly different with their careers, Mayall and Edmondson elected to move away from the comfort of a live audience, bringing their comedic imagination to the big screen. Battling to bring shape to their ideas, Mayall and Edmondson's progress was slowed by an accident that left Mayall with a brain injury, but production finally began in Ealing Studios, creating a whole new set of technical and creative challenges for the team. Casting is celebrated and characters are explored. Most important is BTS footage which runs throughout the featurette, offering an appreciation of the filming event, along with an extended understanding of the vomit sequence, which is offered interesting but disgusting detail.

• "Paradiso Pegg" (11:29, HD) is an interview with actor Simon Pegg, who details his love of "The Young Ones" when he was a boy, sparking a fascination for Rik Mayall. Setting out to become a dramatic actor, Pegg made a detour into comedy, slowly acquiring work through the late 1990s, eventually ending up in "Guest House Paradiso," delighted to partner with Mayall and Adrian Edmondson. The interviewee explores the shooting experience at Ealing Studios, surrounded by talented people, gradually cozying up to Mayall. Co-stars are assessed and makeup work is identified, including nipple ring happenings and a climatic vomit-palooza.

• Outtakes (8:43, SD) are offered, highlighting blown lines, faulty special effects, and general take-disrupting foolishness.

• And Trailer #1 (2:00), Trailer #2 (:57), and Trailer #3 (1:06) are included.

Guest House Paradiso Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The saga of Gina and Gino drives the final act of "Guest House Paradiso," but Mayall and Edmundson have something more grotesque in mind for the grade finale, turning to the ways of contaminated fish to inspire a vomit-laden conclusion. Like so much of the film, it's something to see and energetically performed, but it's never especially funny in the way Mayal and Edmundson would like it to be.