# Paradise Records (film)
*Paradise Records* is a 2025 American comedy film in which the musician [Logic](https://www.edgepedia.org/logic-rapper), born Bobby Hall, makes his debut as a feature director, writer, and star, playing Cooper, a record store owner fighting to keep his shop open through a single disastrous day of debt, a takeover offer, and a robbery that becomes a hostage situation.[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/paradise-records-2025) • [2](https://tv.apple.com/ca/movie/paradise-records/umc.cmc.wbbe014uniqkx682vgu0jhnw) It premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival in the Spotlight Narrative section.[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/paradise-records-2025)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | Tribeca Festival 2025, Spotlight Narrative; United States, English[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/paradise-records-2025) |
| Director, writer, star | Logic (Bobby Hall), as record store owner Cooper[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/paradise-records-2025) |
| Key crew | Kevin Smith as executive producer and editor; producers Logic, Jordan Monsanto, and Liz Destro; cinematographer Kevin Fletcher; composer Sean Wolcott[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/paradise-records-2025) |
| Main cast | Tramayne Hudson (T-Man), Reed Northrup (Tables), Mary Elizabeth Kelly (Melanie)[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/paradise-records-2025) • [2](https://tv.apple.com/ca/movie/paradise-records/umc.cmc.wbbe014uniqkx682vgu0jhnw) |
| Premise | Cooper owes $178,000, much of it from paying his employees full salaries through the pandemic, and faces foreclosure, a buyer, and a robbery[3](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/paradise-records-review-logic-completely-unnecessary-new-movie/) • [1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/paradise-records-2025) |
| Setting | A failing record store in the Greater Portland, Oregon area; the real location was endlessound records in St. Helens, Oregon[4](https://m.imdb.com/news/ni65324201/) • [5](https://www.endlessoundrecords.com/pages/faq) |
| Release | Studio BobbyBoy Films; rated R; 1 hr 48 min[2](https://tv.apple.com/ca/movie/paradise-records/umc.cmc.wbbe014uniqkx682vgu0jhnw) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Cooper owns and operates Paradise Records, a store that has seen better days. Years of struggle have left him $178,000 in debt, largely because he paid his staff full salaries through the pandemic, and he now lives in the shop itself after selling his apartment.[3](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/paradise-records-review-logic-completely-unnecessary-new-movie/) • [6](https://joshatthemovies.com/2025/06/07/tribeca-2025-paradise-records/) With the bank refusing a loan and foreclosure looming, arcade owner Mike Hawk ([Martin Starr](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-starr)) circles with a takeover offer.[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/paradise-records-2025) • [7](https://elementsofmadness.com/2025/06/07/paradise-records/) Cooper hides the store's situation from his employees, whom he treats as family.[8](https://theartistsforum.org/film-2025-tribeca-film-festival/)
The day escalates: a robbery, the mafia, and the police converge into a hostage situation inside the store.[8](https://theartistsforum.org/film-2025-tribeca-film-festival/) A further complication is Cooper's Uncle Tony, who owes $5,000 to mobsters.[6](https://joshatthemovies.com/2025/06/07/tribeca-2025-paradise-records/) Cooper's staff includes his cousin T-Man (Tramayne Hudson), the Lord of the Rings-loving Tables (Reed Northrup), and Melanie (Mary Elizabeth Kelly), the store's voice of reason.[6](https://joshatthemovies.com/2025/06/07/tribeca-2025-paradise-records/)
## Production
Logic wrote, directed, produced, and stars in the film, his first feature as a director. According to Pitchfork, he told [Ryan Seacrest](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-seacrest) that the script had existed in some form at least seven years before release.[3](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/paradise-records-review-logic-completely-unnecessary-new-movie/) The project followed his acting debut in [Kevin Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-smith)'s *The 4:30 Movie* (2024), in which he played Astro Blaster, a character in the film-within-the-film; Smith then came aboard *Paradise Records* as executive producer and editor, producing through his company Smodco.[9](https://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com/2025/06/14/paradise-records-at-tribeca-festival-2025/) • [7](https://elementsofmadness.com/2025/06/07/paradise-records/) One review describes the film as self-funded and entirely Logic's own creative vision.[6](https://joshatthemovies.com/2025/06/07/tribeca-2025-paradise-records/)
The film is set in a failing record store in the Greater Portland, Oregon area, and the store of the title is a real shop: endlessound records in historic downtown St. Helens, Oregon, about 30 miles northwest of Portland, which identifies itself as the "Home of Paradise Records" and appears on the Oregon Film Trail.[4](https://m.imdb.com/news/ni65324201/) • [5](https://www.endlessoundrecords.com/pages/faq)
## Influences and style
**Kevin Smith's shadow.** Reviewers consistently read the film as a tribute to Smith's *Clerks*, down to homages such as the "if you plan to shoplift, let us know" sign and an appearance by [Jay and Silent Bob](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-and-silent-bob), shown in black and white with color added for the weed.[10](https://awardsradar.com/2025/06/10/tribeca-festival-review-paradise-records-sees-logic-amusingly-follow-the-kevin-smith-playbook/) • [11](https://letterboxd.com/epicdave01/film/paradise-records/) The Tribeca program calls it a spiritual successor to *Barbershop*, *Friday After Next*, *Empire Records*, and *Clerks*, and the director has cited [Sidney Lumet](https://www.edgepedia.org/sidney-lumet)'s *Dog Day Afternoon* as a prime source of inspiration, with [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino)'s *Pulp Fiction* another touchpoint, including Cooper's Pulp Fiction-inspired wallet.[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/paradise-records-2025) • [4](https://m.imdb.com/news/ni65324201/) • [9](https://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com/2025/06/14/paradise-records-at-tribeca-festival-2025/)
The story unfolds over one very eventful day, a structure several critics compared to working in retail, with humor arriving in bursts rather than sustained sequences.[9](https://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com/2025/06/14/paradise-records-at-tribeca-festival-2025/) • [7](https://elementsofmadness.com/2025/06/07/paradise-records/) The soundtrack features crate-digger deep cuts, tributes to J. Dilla, and boom-bap selections.[12](https://reviewsanddunn.net/tribeca-review-paradise-records/)
## Cast and cameos
The ensemble mixes newcomers with established actors in cameo roles. Alongside Logic, Tramayne Hudson, Reed Northrup, and Mary Elizabeth Kelly, the credited cast includes [Tony Revolori](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-revolori) as Slaydro, Nolan North as Daryl, Oliver Tree as Bobby, Martin Starr as Mike Hawk, and [Ron Perlman](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-perlman) as The Chief.[2](https://tv.apple.com/ca/movie/paradise-records/umc.cmc.wbbe014uniqkx682vgu0jhnw) Reviews also note cameos by [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://www.edgepedia.org/joseph-gordon-levitt) and Jason Mewes.[12](https://reviewsanddunn.net/tribeca-review-paradise-records/) Hudson, Logic's real-life best friend, was singled out by several critics for his comedic timing.[6](https://joshatthemovies.com/2025/06/07/tribeca-2025-paradise-records/) • [12](https://reviewsanddunn.net/tribeca-review-paradise-records/)
## Reception
Critical response was divided. Josh at the Movies gave it five stars and called it a "hysterical comedic gem," while the Artists Forum reviewer rated it 2 out of 5.[6](https://joshatthemovies.com/2025/06/07/tribeca-2025-paradise-records/) • [8](https://theartistsforum.org/film-2025-tribeca-film-festival/) Reviews and Dunn gave it a B+, praising Hudson's performance but finding the Tables and Melanie characters underdeveloped, and criticizing the film's repeated use of the n-word as diminishing the dialogue.[12](https://reviewsanddunn.net/tribeca-review-paradise-records/) Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre was negative, arguing that the film's personal themes about Logic's identity as a biracial man were relegated to background details while the movie stayed close to its *Clerks* template.[3](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/paradise-records-review-logic-completely-unnecessary-new-movie/) Awards Radar judged that the film follows the Kevin Smith playbook closely enough to be imitation at times, but that Logic's sincerity earns it an audience.[10](https://awardsradar.com/2025/06/10/tribeca-festival-review-paradise-records-sees-logic-amusingly-follow-the-kevin-smith-playbook/)
## References
1. [Paradise Records, 2025 Tribeca Festival archive](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/paradise-records-2025)
2. [Paradise Records, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/ca/movie/paradise-records/umc.cmc.wbbe014uniqkx682vgu0jhnw)
3. [Paradise Records Review: Logic's Completely Unnecessary New Movie, Pitchfork (June 20, 2025)](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/paradise-records-review-logic-completely-unnecessary-new-movie/)
4. ['Paradise Records' Review: Rapper Logic's Anarchic Stoner Hangout Movie Brings Jay And Silent Bob Out Of Retirement, IMDb news](https://m.imdb.com/news/ni65324201/)
5. [FAQ, endlessound records, St. Helens, Oregon](https://www.endlessoundrecords.com/pages/faq)
6. [Tribeca 2025: Paradise Records, Josh At The Movies (June 7, 2025)](https://joshatthemovies.com/2025/06/07/tribeca-2025-paradise-records/)
7. [Audiences find the groove emanating within Logic's feature film directorial debut, Elements of Madness (June 7, 2025)](https://elementsofmadness.com/2025/06/07/paradise-records/)
8. [Film: 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, The Artists Forum](https://theartistsforum.org/film-2025-tribeca-film-festival/)
9. [PARADISE RECORDS at Tribeca Festival 2025, No Rest for the Weekend (June 14, 2025)](https://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com/2025/06/14/paradise-records-at-tribeca-festival-2025/)
10. [Tribeca Festival Review: 'Paradise Records' Sees Logic Amusingly Follow the Kevin Smith Playbook, Awards Radar (June 10, 2025)](https://awardsradar.com/2025/06/10/tribeca-festival-review-paradise-records-sees-logic-amusingly-follow-the-kevin-smith-playbook/)
11. ['Paradise Records' review by David, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/epicdave01/film/paradise-records/)
12. [Tribeca Review: "Paradise Records", Reviews and Dunn](https://reviewsanddunn.net/tribeca-review-paradise-records/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2025 › Titles M to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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