47. Dreadlock Holiday &...

Lyrics

I was walkin' down the street
Concentratin' on truckin' right
I heard a dark voice beside of me
And I looked round in a state of fright
I saw four faces one mad
A brother from the gutter
They looked me up and down a bit
And turned to each other

I say
I don't like cricket oh no
I love it
I don't like cricket oh no
I love it
Don't you walk thru my words
You got to show some respect
Don't you walk thru my words
'Cause you ain't heard me out yet

Well he looked down at my silver chain
He said I'll give you one dollar
I said you've got to be jokin' man
It was a present from me Mother
He said I like it I want it
I'll take it off your hands
And you'll be sorry you crossed me
You'd better understand that you're alone
A long way from home

And I say
I don't like reggae no no
I love it
I don't like reggae oh no
I love it
Don't you cramp me style
Don't you queer on me pitch
Don't you walk thru my words
'Cause you ain't heard me out yet

I hurried back to the swimming pool
Sinkin' pina coladas
I heard a dark voice beside me say
Would you like something harder
She said I've got it you want it
My harvest is the best
And if you try it you'll like it
And wallow in a Dreadlock Holiday

And I say
Don't like Jamaica oh no
I love her
Don't like Jamaica oh no
I love her oh yea
Don't you walk thru her words
You got to show some respect
Don't you walk thru her words
'Cause you ain't heard her out yet

I don't like cricket
I love it (Dreadlock Holiday)
I don't like reggae
I love it (Dreadlock Holiday)
Don't like Jamaica
I love her (Dreadlock Holiday)

I hurried back to the swimming pool 


10CC is one of the rare acclaimed rock/pop groups that injects quite some humor in their songs. Dreadlock Holiday is a good example of it, but so are I'm Not in Love and The Wall Street Shuffle. And I like their music too, though this is obviously their best song. I've linked the song to a movie about a holiday in Jamaica.

The Movie: Club Paradise (Harold Ramis, 1986)

Club Paradise is rated 4,5 on IMDB. Despite that I expected this to be a decent comedy, mostly because of director Harold Ramis. He made Groundhog Day after all. Well, my hopes for it were nearly crushed after an atrocious opening scene that's misguided in any possible way. It's also totally unnecessary. I could explain what happens, but that would take too long, besides it is just a reason to send Robin Williams' character to Jamaica. Anyway after this scene there is a long montage in which we see Williams live in Jamaica. This is is too unbelievably dull. Somehow though the movie recovers after these two scenes. It is pretty dumb and I wouldn't even call it a decent comedy, but I was entertained.

That's not because of the movie's main plot though. That is about Williams and Jimmy Cliff trying to run a holiday resort on the island of Jamaica, which for some reason is called St. Christopher in this movie. They have to overcome the fact that they are completely lousy at doing this and the fact that evil capitalists want to buy off their resort and put on a more luxurious resort. Which rationally would be the best for everyone involved. After all, at the end of the movie the problem of the capitalists is resolved. Williams and Cliff are still lousy at their job though. The movie kind of forgets about it. But silly plots aren't a problem in a comedy. The main problem is Robin Williams. He is often being accused of being too zany, but here he is half asleep. He seems bored out of his mind, which is not so surprising considering his dialogue. Jimmy Cliff has a bit more fun as he gets to sing a lot. And even when he is not singing on screen, we hear his songs on the soundtrack almost constantly. These songs in their music and lyrics express pretty serious ideas about (the spirit of) Jamaica. They are way too good for this movie and sometimes I was confused whether they were chosen, because the filmmakers felt that they were doing the same thing with this movie. They can't be so misguided though, can they?

Anyway while the main plot sucked, I had quite some fun with the small plots involving the guests on the island. Rick Moranis and Eugene Levy play two bro's (only that word wasn't invented yet then) who act cool, thinking that every woman will love them. Except, they are total losers, who are oblivious to how pathetic they are. These aren't original characters, but they get some good lines and Levy and Moranis play them to perfection. Their interactions are some of the best moments of the movie. So naturally the filmmakers choose to separate them, by letting Moranis go wind surfing and getting lost at see. Than there is a couple that is completely unfit for each other. The movie milks some laughs out of the contrast between the enormously energetic wife and her lazy husband. The movie is stolen though by Peter O'Toole who has the best lines of the movie, some of them genuinely satiric and funny. He plays the British ambassador on the island, who is mostly enjoying his easy life there, not doing much work. O'Toole has fun with his lines and his role. And why shouldn't he be? He is overqualified for this role and he gets millions of dollars to have some fun on a warm Jamaican island.

Still, the movie isn't very good. And it's a shame, because it is mostly out of laziness than out of a lack of talent. The movie could have been a really good comic satire on globalization politics. Peter O'Toole's lines show that the filmmakers really know how to say interesting stuff on this subject in a funny way. They show this in other cases too. They raise questions about whether globalization is a danger for national and traditional values and cultures. They show there a lot of different parties and nations, having an interest in the new luxurious resort. First we think it's the island's elite that needs this luxurious resort. Than we find out that the British are the ones in charge. And even later we find out that it are actually the Arabs who are the main stakeholders. Lastly it is interesting that the people of St. Christopher don't do anything directly to stop the luxurious resort. They just rebel against the mayor. While the Arabs and the Britons see the unrest from a ship fat at sea and leave. The movie explicitly states that foreign investors are scared away from investing in a nation, if there is unrest in that nation. These are all not only interesting ideas that show that the filmmakers are really knowledgeable on this subject. They just don't care to explore it any further, rather focusing on the stupid plot.