Exit to Eden (film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Exit To Eden

| image = exit_to_eden_poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Garry Marshall

| producer = Garry Marshall
Edward K. Milkis

| writer = Deborah Amelon
Bob Brunner

| based_on = {{Based on|Exit to Eden|Anne Rampling}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

| music = Patrick Doyle

| cinematography = Theo van de Sande

| editing = David Finfer

| distributor = Savoy Pictures

| released = {{Film date|1994|10|14}}

| runtime = 114 minutes{{cite web|title=EXIT TO EDEN (18)|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/AFF065533/|work=British Board of Film Classification|date=1995-04-03|access-date=2012-11-10}}

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $25-30 million{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/13/business/after-loud-opening-a-studio-is-in-retreat.html|title=After Loud Opening, a Studio Is in Retreat|first=Bernard|last=Weinraub|newspaper=The New York Times|date=13 November 1995}}

| gross = $6.8 million{{mojo title|exittoeden|Exit to Eden}}

}}

Exit to Eden is a 1994 American comedy thriller film directed by Garry Marshall and adapted to the screen by Deborah Amelon and Bob Brunner from Anne Rice's novel of the same name. The original music score was composed by Patrick Doyle.

Dana Delany stars as Lisa Emerson (named Lisa Kelly in the book) and Paul Mercurio plays Elliot Slater. Half of the film consists of a new comedic detective story line written by the director. Several new characters were also created, including Dan Aykroyd and Rosie O'Donnell as police officers pursuing diamond thieves to the Eden resort.

Plot

Elliot Slater is a young, attractive, Australian professional photographer living in Southern California. Having always been uncomfortable with his sexual proclivities, which tend toward the BDSM realm, he signs up for a dominatrix-themed vacation on a private tropical island known as "Eden" in the hopes of working through his discomfort.

Unbeknownst to him, before embarking on his journey of sexual discovery, he has unwittingly photographed an international jewel thief of whom no other photos exist. The jewel thief Omar and his criminal partner Nina are intent on recovering the film in order to retain Omar's anonymity.

They follow the photographer to the island resort run by the dominatrix, Mistress Lisa Emerson, posing as vacationers. Following a tip that Omar is on the island, undercover police officers Fred Lavery and Sheila Kingston also arrive, Sheila in the guise of a vacationer and Fred as a handyman. When a submissive asks Sheila what he can do to please her, she tells him to go paint her house.

Comedic antics ensue amid the activities of scantily clad guests and employees, acting out their dominant and submissive fantasies.

In the course of Elliot's experiences as Mistress Lisa's personal submissive, including a scene where she ties him up and fondles his naked body (especially, his bare buttocks, which she also spanks), the two begin to fall in love. The action comes to a climax on a quick trip to New Orleans, where Lisa reluctantly admits her feelings for Elliot, all the while tailed by Omar, who attempts to kill them.

Fred and Sheila save the day, sending Omar and Nina to jail, and receive commendations for solving the case. Elliot returns to Eden and proposes to Lisa, who says yes. Also, the submissive who spoke to Sheila makes good on her request: he has her house painted.

Cast

{{castlist|

Dana Delany as Lisa Emerson
Paul Mercurio as Elliot Slater
Rosie O'Donnell as Sheila Kingston
Dan Aykroyd as Fred Lavery
Hector Elizondo as Dr. Martin Helifax; credited "As usual Hector Elizondo".
Stuart Wilson as Omar
Iman as Nina Blackstone
Sean O'Bryan as Tommy Miller
Stephanie Niznik as Diana
Phil Redrow as Richard
Sandra Taylor as Riba
Julie Hughes as Julie
Laura Harring as M.C. Kindra
Deborah Pratt as Dr. Williams
Laurelle Mehus as Heidi
Tom Hines as Nolan
Alison Moir as Kitty
James Patrick Stuart as James
Rosemary Forsyth as Mrs. Brady
John Schneider as Professor Collins
Donna Dixon as Bonnie
Don Hood as Lisa's Father
Rio Hackford as Topless Customer
Mel Novak as Walker's Henchman
Bonnie Aarons as the Prostitute

}}

Production

The whips used and shown in detail were created by Janette Heartwood.see Phillip Miller, Molly Devon, William A. Granzig: Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism. Mystic Rose Books 1995, {{ISBN|0-9645960-0-8}} This was the last film produced by Edward K. Milkis before his death in 1996.

Reception

The film garnered attention during its release because of the BDSM themes, full frontal female nudity (including Delany), and because of the high profiles of the director, cast members, and the author. Promotional materials for the film included photos of Delany in dominatrix attire.

It was panned by critics, who expressed disappointment and confusion over the combination of the original story and the comedic elements. The film maintains a 5% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews, with an average score of 3.2/10.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/exit_to_eden/|title=Exit to Eden (1994)|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=2019-08-06}} Roger Ebert gave the film ½ star out of four possible stars, writing that "it's supposed to be a kinky sex comedy, but it keeps getting distracted. On the first page of my notes, I wrote 'Starts slow.' On the second page, I wrote 'Boring.' On the third page, I wrote 'Endless!' On the fourth page, I wrote: 'Bite-size Shredded Wheat, skim milk, cantaloupe, frozen peas, toilet paper, salad stuff, pick up laundry.' The movie is based on a novel by Anne Rice, who is said to know a lot about bizarre sexual practices. Either she learned it all after writing this book, or the director, Garry Marshall, just didn't have his heart in it. The movie is not only dumb and illconstructed, but tragically miscast. The actors look so uncomfortable they could be experiencing alarming intestinal symptoms." He added: {{cquote|Anne Rice recently took out two-page spreads in Variety and the New York Times to announce that she has seen the film of her novel "Interview with the Vampire," and thinks it is a masterpiece. I don't think we should look for her ad about "Exit to Eden," not even in the classifieds."{{cite news |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19941014/REVIEWS/410140301/1023 |title=Exit To Eden :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews |publisher=Rogerebert.suntimes.com |date=1994-10-14 |access-date=2012-09-01 |archive-date=2012-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007062237/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19941014%2FREVIEWS%2F410140301%2F1023 |url-status=dead }}}} Time Out described the film as a "sexploiter [that] makes Zalman King's 'women's fantasy' movies seem sophisticated and daring."{{Cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/film/64106.html|title=Exit to Eden|website=Time Out London|date=10 September 2012 |access-date=2016-04-05}} James Berardinelli wrote that the film "has all the ingredients of late night cable fare. The film, which invites a decidedly-unfavorable comparison to John Duigan's Sirens, isn't so much repugnant as it is disappointing. Its R rating also raises questions about the basic inconsistency of the MPAA. Other, non-mainstream films have gotten NC-17s for a lot less. Perhaps the Association tempered their rating because they found Exit to Eden amusing. If so, they're probably the only ones."{{cite web |url=http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/e/exit_eden.html |title=Related Pages |publisher=Movie-reviews.colossus.net |access-date=2012-09-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229040007/http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/e/exit_eden.html |archive-date=2012-02-29 }} Janet Maslin of The New York Times called the film "an incredible mess, a movie that changes gears so often and so nonsensically it seems to have been edited in a blender."{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9503E0D8143CF937A25753C1A962958260|title=Movie Review - Smuggling as Afterthought to S-and-M|website=www.nytimes.com|access-date=2016-04-05}}

The film was not a financial success either, opening with a gross for the weekend of $3 million and a total gross of $6.8 million, which led to the company recognising a loss.{{cite magazine|magazine=Daily Variety|date=October 18, 1994|page=4|title='Exit' Sign: Poor B.O. saps Savoy|last=Greene|first=Jay}}

One controversy occurred when it was initially banned by the Saskatchewan Film and Video Classification Board. Critics were puzzled by the banning, as Saskatchewan was the only jurisdiction known to have kept the film out of theaters. After a brief media flurry, the Board lifted the ban a week later.{{cite news |last=Salem |first=Rob |date = 16 October 1994 |page=B3 |title=Maybe Saskatchewan had it right first time: Exit To Eden is painful |journal=Toronto Star}}{{cite news |author=(CP) |date = 14 October 1994 |page=88 |title=Exit to Eden ban reversed |journal=Toronto Star}}

= Year-end worst-of lists =

2nd – Janet Maslin, The New York Times{{cite web|last=Maslin|first=Janet|date=December 27, 1994|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/27/movies/critic-s-notebook-the-good-bad-and-in-between-in-a-year-of-surprises-on-film.html|title=CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; The Good, Bad and In-Between In a Year of Surprises on Film|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 19, 2020}}
3rd – Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News{{cite news|last=Denerstein|first=Robert|date=January 1, 1995|title=Perhaps It Was Best to Simply Fade to Black|newspaper=Rocky Mountain News|page=61A|edition=Final}}
4th – John Hurley, Staten Island Advance{{cite news|last=Hurley|first=John|date=December 30, 1994|title=Movie Industry Hit Highs and Lows in '94|newspaper=Staten Island Advance|page=D11}}
8th – Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News{{cite news|last=Lovell|first=Glenn|date=December 25, 1994 |title=The Past Picture Show the Good, the Bad and the Ugly -- a Year Worth's of Movie Memories|newspaper=San Jose Mercury News|page=3|edition=Morning Final}}
Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Mike Mayo, The Roanoke Times{{cite news|last=Mayo|first=Mike|date=December 30, 1994|title=The Hits and Misses at the Movies in '94|newspaper=The Roanoke Times|page=1|edition=Metro}}
Top 18 (alphabetically listed, not ranked) – Michael Mills, The Palm Beach Post{{cite news|last=Mills|first=Michael|date=December 30, 1994|title=It's a Fact: 'Pulp Fiction' Year's Best|newspaper=The Palm Beach Post|page=7|edition=Final}}
Dishonorable mention – William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer{{cite news|last=Arnold|first=William|date=December 30, 1994|title='94 Movies: Best and Worst|newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|page=20|edition=Final}}

=Awards and nominations=

O'Donnell won the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress for this film, Aykroyd earned nominations for Worst Supporting Actor, and both O'Donnell and Aykroyd were nominated as Worst Screen Couple.{{cite web |title=Razzie Awards |url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000558/1995 |access-date=11 July 2017 |website=IMDb}} At the 1994 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, O'Donnell was also nominated for Worst Actress.

Home media

The film was released on VHS tape (NTSC) in May 1995, on DVD (NTSC Region 1, 4:3 Full Frame) in April 2002 and on (PAL Region 2) in 2003 (German Version "Undercover Cop" with German and English language sound).{{Cite web|url=https://www.wunschliste.de/spielfilm/undercover-cops|title=Undercover Cops|website=wunschliste.de|access-date=2019-10-14}}