Fool's Paradise

Charlie Day, Charlie from 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia', shot his first film as a director under the title 'El Tonto'. Guillermo del Toro, who gave him notes on his rewrites, told him to drop it, and the film reached cinemas as 'Fool's Paradise'. Day also wrote it and stars in this Hollywood satire about a man who never says a word and still becomes a movie star.

That man is discharged from a psychiatric hospital because the state can no longer pay for his care, and ends up wandering the streets of Los Angeles, doing whatever the next person tells him. Nearby, a Billy the Kid biopic has ground to a halt because its method actor star won't leave his trailer. When the producer spots the drifter selling oranges on the street, he can't believe his eyes: he's the star's double.

He's hired as a stand in, and Lenny, a publicist without a single client who sneaks onto studio lots looking for talent, thinks he's finally struck gold. A mix up over a coffee order even gives the newcomer a stage name, Latte Pronto. Without ever opening his mouth, he becomes a star almost by accident, and the industry starts seeing genius in every one of his silences.

Ken Jeong, Chow from 'The Hangover', plays Lenny the publicist. Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, Jason Sudeikis, Edie Falco, Jason Bateman, Common, John Malkovich and Ray Liotta, in one of his final roles, are also in the cast, along with several of Day's 'It's Always Sunny' colleagues.

It was shot in Los Angeles in late 2018, but Day went back for a week of reshoots in December 2021 after writing 27 new pages on del Toro's advice. It opened in US cinemas in May 2023 and critics weren't won over: Ken Jeong got some praise, but many found the jokes didn't land and the satire lacked bite.

• Comedy