Moon over Parador Totally Explained

Everything about Moon Over Parador totally explained

Moon over Parador is a (1988) romantic comedy film, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Raul Julia and Sonia Braga.

Synopsis

The film follows the exploits of Jack Noah (Dreyfuss), who is filming in the small, fictional South American country of Parador when the Paradorian president-for-life suddenly dies of a heart attack. Not wanting to lose his position in power, the president's right-hand man, Roberto Strausmann (Raul Julia) forces Jack to take the 'role of a lifetime' - that of the dead president, as the two men look so much alike. Jack accepts, eventually winning over the people and even the dead president's mistress, Madonna (Sonia Braga). However, when paradise proves to be too boring, Jack needs to find a way to get out while keeping Roberto out of the loop. The movie attempts to generate suspense by establishing that Jack Noah is in physical jeopardy so long as he remains in Parador. However, the film is told in flashback, with an opening scene establishing that Jack has returned to New York City.

Trivia

During a scene where Jack has to address the crowd as the Paradorian President, he ad-libs his lines and uses the text for the song "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha. Only Roberto catches on, a reference to Raul Julia's leading role (Don Quixote) in the Broadway version of Man of La Mancha.
Sammy Davis Jr.'s rendition of Parador's national anthem is sung against the music for Besame Mucho.
The previous Paradorian National Anthem ("O Parador") is sung to the tune of O Christmas Tree. This might be a reference to the mostly unknown and unnoticed fact that in some Latin American countries, the Knights of Columbus Anthem is sung to the tune of O Christmas Tree.
Ralph (Jonathan Winters) tells a long story concerning an English pirate who founded the country of Parador to explain why Alphonse Simms has an Anglo-Saxon surname. The real reason is that the film was shot in Brazil, and director Paul Mazursky needed a shot of a crowd of Brazilian extras chanting the dictator's name. When the crowd is calling out "Simms! Simms!", they're actually chanting "Sim! Sim!" "Sim" is "yes" in Portuguese, the language of Brazil.
Director Paul Mazursky appears uncredited in drag, playing Simms' mother.
Paul's wife Betsy Mazursky appears at a buffet table and asks, "Por favor, is it safe to eat this lettuce here?"
Paul's daughter, Jill Mazursky, plays the assistant director of the second film crew to shoot in Parador.
In the beginning while both the President and Jack are in the shot, the President is played by Richard Dreyfuss's older brother Lorin Dreyfuss.

Cast

Richard Dreyfuss - Jack Noah/President Alphonse Simms

Raul Julia - Roberto Strausmann

Sonia Braga - Madonna Mendez

Dana Delany - Jenny

Jonathan Winters - Ralph

Fernando Rey - Alejandro

Michael Greene - Clint

Polly Holliday - Midge

Milton Gonçalves - Carlo

Charo - Madame Lupe

Marianne Sägebrecht - Magda

Sammy Davis, Jr. - Himself

Ike Pappas - Himself

Locations

New York City, New York, USA

Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro City, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Salvador, Bahia, BrazilFurther Information

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