Exit to Eden

However, it's worth watching--though I roll my eyes through a lot of it thanks to the comedic parts. The book was not written as a comedy, and it shows in this film. A pity the director didn't have the guts to do this film the way the book was written.

I strongly suggest to those who enjoy the theme of this movie to go buy the book. Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty series (written as A. N. Roquelaure) is an incredible read--better then Exit to Eden.


Great Erotic Comedy   November 6, 2003
Loosely based on Anne Rice's same-named book (which I haven't read yet, so I can't compare the two), "Exit to Eden" is a humorous and erotic movie about an Australian photojournalist, Elliot Slater (Paul Mercurio), living in California, who goes to a S&M fantasy island resort for some sexual experimentation. There he becomes a citizen (a slave) and tries to win the guarded heart of the head dominatrix, Mistress Lisa (Dana Delany).

Meanwhile, Detectives Sheila Kingston (Rosie O'Donnell) and Fred Lavery (Dan Aykroyd) are trying to nab a couple of South American diamond smugglers: Nina (Iman) and Omar (Stuart Wilson). When the latter two head for Eden in order to steal the pictures Elliot took of them at the airport, Sheila and Fred follow in pursuit, but undercover: she as a guest, and he as the maintenance man. It's a wild goose chase after that, with Elliot chasing Lisa, the cops chasing the crooks and Elliot, and the crooks chasing Elliot--everybody basically in their undies all the while.

"Exit to Eden" is a mishmash of genres--involving detective work, romance, and erotica--but mostly it's a comedy, which lightens the load on a dark topic such as BDSM. Sheila is the main comedic relief, as well as the narrator, but I felt the movie was more about the relationship between Elliot and Lisa, a pairing I thought was believable and enjoyable--one most viewers will be cheering for from the beginning. I was also pleased that Sheila got her own chance at romance with her private citizen, Tommy (Sean O'Bryan), since she was, at times, reduced to just being the chubby jokester. Even so, her one-liners are part of what made this movie memorable for me, e.g. "We're the only two people on this island without handcuffs," as well as in the same scene where she's making fun of Nina's accent.

"Exit to Eden" is yet another favorite guilty pleasure of mine. If you like sex comedies, then you'll probably enjoy this movie. It's all in good fun. Good soundtrack, too. Rated R for--well, I'm sure you can guess.


TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE   July 29, 2003
This is a complete slap in the face of Anne Rice's work. I heard that they initially shot the version of the film that closely parallels the book. However it did so poorly in audience testing, that they brought in Dan Adroyd and Rosie O'Donnel for post-production, AND MADE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MOVIE!! You can tell because the four principals are together only in the end scene. But this effort only confuses and destroys whatever had existed of the original themes. I would be interested to see the original version that followed Anne Rice's book.


Nice Comedy   June 23, 2003
The best kinda comedy. Make fun of sex, even the wierd stuff? Who better than Rosie? That and there were some good looking ladies with itty bitty clothes.