“I wanted to protect my material” is the reason screenwriters give when they turn director. “Juno” author Diablo Cody needs someone to protect her from herself as she takes the reins for the first time with her script for “Paradise.”
Julianne Hough is just a small-town girl from a strict Christian community who, after suffering horrendous burns in a plane crash, decides to cut footloose in Las Vegas, where she hopes to commit every sin in the book.
Hanging out with friendly bar staffers (Russell Brand and Octavia Spencer) on Fremont Street, she learns to loosen up a little while absorbing some dull lessons (“Everyone has scars”).
Cody’s satiric knocks on Christians couldn’t be more blundering and obvious. Yet her dialogue is often funny, and the unusual three-way friendship is refreshing. Even former star Brand has learned to dial back his manic mugging, though maybe not quite enough.