Fool’s Paradise, the directorial debut of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Charlie Day, will be coming to theaters later this year. Previously named El Tonto during production, Fool’s Paradise was written and directed by Charlie Day and has an all-star cast brighter than headlights on a dark country road. The picture was recently picked up by Roadside Attractions, Grindstone, and Lionsgate and will be released on home entertainment as well as have an exclusive run in theaters. This will be the first time Day has directed a movie, despite starring in several comedies and sci-fi flicks in the past.

Fans of Charlie Day will have seen his writing skill proved in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The television show is America’s longest-running live-action sitcom and has been on the air since 2006. Day helped create the show and has been writing it since it began along with co-creators Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney. Fool’s Paradise will be his first foray into filmmaking, but Day has prepared himself with a brilliant comedic acting style, a profound musical acumen, and experience on movie sets. And if you don’t trust the director, when you see the cast, you’ll know that Fool’s Paradise is not to be missed.

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Fool’s Paradise: The Plot

     20th Century Fox

Little is known about Fool’s Paradise aside from a short synopsis of the plot. Charlie Day’s movie has technically been completed for a long time, but due to extenuating circumstances and profound artistic influences, the editing process took much longer than expected. Fool’s Paradise was first delayed by the pandemic, and due to that, time changed the filmmaker’s perspective, and after some inspiring words from Guillermo Del Toro, Day ended up doing a lot of reshoots and changing the film considerably. Day shared the following with SlashFilm.

“I used the pandemic to, like Pixar does, stop and look at my project and change whatever aspects of it I wanted to change. And I’m going through the final editing now, but I had a lot of help from a really talented mentor, a brilliant man named Guillermo del Toro, who … I was about to sell the movie, and I wanted to get his opinion on something that I really wanted to change, but I knew it was a crazy move to take the movie off the market and go through a change and sit on it for so long. And Guillermo was such a good influence that he said, ‘Listen, you just have to make this movie what you want it to be.’ “

IMDb has the film’s plot described as “A fool for love becomes an accidental celebrity only to lose it all.” But this may have been more accurate before Day did his reshoots. How Deadline describes the plot is more in-depth. Instead of following “the fool” per se, Fool’s Paradise is a satirical comedy that follows a down-on-his-luck publicist that exploits a man recently released from a mental health facility who looks just like a method actor that refuses to come out of his trailer. With the help of a big Hollywood producer, the publicist turns this mentally ill doppelganger into a star. He even ends up marrying his lovely leading lady. Together they cross paths with drunken co-stars, irreverent unhoused action heroes, unpredictable directors, super-agents, and John Malkovich.

But like many tales of instant success, the two discover that everything they ever wanted may not be what they wanted most. Changed by their new lives, they realize the things that are really important to them and have to fight to hold on to what matters.

Fool’s Paradise: The Cast

     Warner Bros. Pictures

Fool’s Paradise will have an incredible cast. Day brings together stars from all over Hollywood. In fact, if you read the cast list by itself, you might think Wes Anderson was writing a gangster movie and trying to pass it off as a television sketch comedy show. But don’t let that undercut the serious amount of talent Charlie Day has amassed here.

Ken Jeong will play the unfortunate publicist and Charlie Day will play the mentally ill lookalike. The late Ray Liotta will star as the powerful Hollywood producer. Kate Beckinsale will be our leading lady. Adrien Brody will play the drunken co-star. Common will serve as the unhoused action hero. Jason Sudeikis will be the unpredictable director. Edie Falco will be the super-agent. And John Malkovich will play a power-mad mogul.

The movie will also star Travis Fimmel (Vikings), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Glenn Howerton (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Alanna Ubach (Euphoria), Jimmi Simpson (Always Sunny, Westworld), Jillian Bell (Inherent Vice, Office Christmas Party), Dean Norris (Breaking Bad), and Day’s wife Mary Elizabeth Ellis (Always Sunny). There will also be a huge number of stars you might recognize from parts all around the vast Hollywood ecosystem.

Release Date

     RCG Productions

No release date has been set for Fool’s Paradise, but the movie is expected to premiere later this year.