THE STORY – Cooper, a well-meaning record store owner, is trying to keep the doors of Paradise Records open. He’s facing foreclosure, the bank won’t give him a loan, someone keeps offering to buy the property — and then the robbery. He’s not having a great day. Thankfully, he’s got his motley crew of entertaining employees and a lot of weed to help him figure out how to get himself out of this mess.
THE CAST – Logic, Tramayne Hudson, Reed Northrup & Mary Elizabeth Kelly
THE TEAM – Logic (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 106 Minutes
What starts as a normal work day quickly turns into one full of stress, shenanigans, and wild characters in rapper Logic’s feature directorial debut “Paradise Records.” Inspired heavily by Kevin Smith’s cult classic day-in-the-life comedy “Clerks” (he serves as an executive producer on this film), the crass humor and goofy characters found in the 1994 film get a 2025 upgrade as Logic brings even more idiotic conversations and over-the-top situations to the forefront. But just like how “Clerks” isn’t for everyone, “Paradise Records” isn’t either; Logic’s characters don’t have the same staying power as Smith’s, and if his bro humor isn’t your cup of tea, this will be a tough film to get through.
Cooper (Logic) owns and runs a hip record store in Bend, Oregon, where you’ll find him and his cousin T Man (Tramayne Hudson) loudly making homophobic/racist/sexist comments about customers, profiling people on their music taste before they say a word; and figuring out who is stealing from them. There’s also Table (Reed Northrup), a kind and sensitive man, and Melanie (Mary Elizabeth Kelly), the only sane employee at this store. You never know who is going to walk through the door at Paradise Records, and the film is broken into a number of chapters dedicated to them, including Cooper’s wise-cracking and very sexually active father and their buddy Slaydro (a hilarious Tony Revolori), who doesn’t know what house arrest means and if he’s under it. With his directorial debut, Logic does a pretty good job of immersing the audience into the nooks and crannies of this record store. You can practically smell the vinyl all around you, let alone all the smoking happening in the back office.
What’s bothering Cooper the most is dealing with the very real crisis of losing the store due to defaulting on a loan. On top of that, his uncle (also played by Logic) is hoping to get some money to fend off a couple of mobsters, who end up going to Cooper for the rest of the cash. Not to mention, two less-than-bright robbers (Nolan North and Oliver Tree) take the gang as hostages after a botched heist earlier in the day. It’s true what they say: working in retail is a nightmare.
The “Clerks” influences are off the charts with “Paradise Records,” from the day-in-the-life setup and the colorful customers to a black-and-white sequence that features a welcome surprise cameo. But Logic’s film just doesn’t have quite the same hit factor as Smith’s. For starters, the staying power of “Clerks” characters Jay and Silent Bob can’t be topped. Cooper ultimately isn’t a compelling character to watch, and Logic doesn’t give us much to work with, either. He keeps trying to make impressions and make silly voices when going back and forth with his friends, but it very rarely lands. And aside from a few tidbits we learn, we don’t know a great deal about this character by the end. T Man, on the other hand, is a far more interesting character. His horrible retail skills are a treat to watch, brought to life effortlessly by Hudson’s comedy skills, and he surprises everyone when he shares that he dreams of creating his own clothing brand. The closest this film gets to an iconic Jay and Silent Bob pairing is T Man and Slaydro, who continuously manage to out-stupid the other and who should have shared more screen time together. Thankfully, Logic also uses his star power to get a revolving door of guest actors in the film, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ron Perlman, Bobby Lee, and Kevin Corrigan. They bring new energy and laughs into the film when needed, and some of them should have been in the film the whole time.
Ultimately, what will make “Paradise Records” a deal breaker is its comedy style. If you’re the type of person who loves crass humor, non-PC comments, and inappropriate bro/stoner conversations, you’ll love this film. And there’s plenty of it to go around: There’s endless conversations about the n-word, women’s bodies and masturbation, LGBTQ slurs, putting down sensitive guys, and so much more. But for many others (mainly those who aren’t teenage boys), the film gets tedious to sit through and, more often than not, really isn’t funny. But there are at least two good moments that deserve shout-outs. There’s a great line T Man has about Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in “Django Unchained,” as well as an I-really-should’t-laugh-about-this mixup from Slaydro involving Helen Keller and Anne Frank. The film’s pacing also varies from chapter to chapter, depending on the energy of the customer or friend who walks through the door. Because many of the chapters feel more like one-off moments, a few could have been cut without impacting the flow of the story.
In many ways, “Paradise Records” could be considered the modern version of “Clerks” due to its comedy, delinquent characters, and over-the-top situations. But it will likely have a harder time finding its staying power with a mass audience than its predecessor due to its childish, offensive, and pretty unfunny commentary and unmemorable characters. There are a few exceptions to be found within the film, but it’ll be a tough sell for most viewers.
