Exit to Eden (1994)

Exit to Eden is a rare ’90s oddity: a Garry Marshall movie that tries to turn a glossy tropical getaway into a playful, slightly naughty mash-up of sex comedy and cat-and-mouse crime caper. The vibe is breezy and sunlit even when the stakes rise, with Dana Delany giving the island’s head dominatrix a surprising warmth and poise, and Rosie O’Donnell injecting broad, game-for-anything energy as the undercover cop stumbling through a world she’s wildly unprepared for. It’s less a thriller than a cheeky fantasy about desire and self-acceptance, dressed up with jewel-thief hijinks and resort-pageantry silliness. Fair warning: the R-rated nudity and BDSM roleplay are front and center, so if that premise makes you squirm, this won’t convert you—but if you’re curious, it’s an unabashed, time-capsule romp that commits to its weirdness.

Exit to Eden is clearly trying to be a cheeky, sex-positive romp that mixes a BDSM resort romance with a light crime caper, and you can feel the intention to make it playful rather than sleazy. The problem is it can’t pick a lane: the movie lurches between broad sitcom mugging, a half-hearted thriller plot, and earnest intimacy, so the tone never settles and the pacing starts to drag. If you’re expecting a genuinely sexy, insightful exploration of kink or a tight crime-comedy, this will likely feel like an awkward compromise that satisfies neither. The redeeming bits are the glossy vacation setting and a few moments of campy curiosity, but you’ll need a high tolerance for clunky jokes, mismatched performances, and a story that feels stitched together.