Return to Paradise (1998) R - 3½ Stars

If your friend was in trouble in another country and the only way you could save their life was by going to jail yourself, would you? This movie asks that question of how far are you willing to go to help a friend. Good plot, makes you feel the pressure of those tiny little voices in the back of your mind that tell you to walk away.

John 'Sheriff' Volgecherev (Vince Vaughn), Lewis McBride (Joaquin Phoenix) and Tony Croft (David Conrad) are on a dream vacation of a lifetime. In the exotic country of Malaysia, the three spend days drinking rum, smoking hashish and having their way with the local women. Eventually it's time to return to their normal lives. John and Tony leave to go back to their corporate lives in New York while Lewis stays behind to devote his life, joining a team to rescue orangutans. As soon as John and Tony leave, Lewis gets arrested with a huge leftover stash of hash, charged with drug trafficking, punishable by death. Lawyer Beth Eastern (Anne Heche) travels to New York in search of John and Tony to convince them to return to Malaysia saving their friend from certain death. If they do return they will definitely spend time in a third world jail.

Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Propaganda Films, Tetragram
Director: Joseph Ruben
Writers: Pierre Joliver, Olivier Schatzky
Producers: David Arnold, Alain Bernheim, Lashan Browning, Steve Golin, Ezra Swerdlow

I viewed 5/15