The Mocha Beach Hotel sits on a tranquil shoreline in the seaside region of Jamaica. Tourists from Europe and North America flock to this hotel to take in the gorgeous scenery and the vibrant night-life around the city, where they are given the chance to experience Jamaica from the perspective of its inhabitants. Smile Orange is not about them, but rather the employees of the hotel, who work tirelessly to ensure that the guests are satisfied, all the while dealing with their own personal problems. At the core of the story is Ringo Smith (Carl Bradshaw), an eccentric waiter who is always in constant conflict with someone – whether it be his girlfriend who pesters him for money, the mild-mannered busboy (Glenn Morrison) who is hopelessly in love with one of the guests, or the new assistant manager of the hotel (Vaughn Crosskill) who may not have been in the job for long, but has already adopted all the stress that comes with running a busy hotel and dealing with both the impatient guests and his dysfunctional staff. Misadventures abound throughout the Mocha Beach Hotel, especially when Ringo is trying to evade all trouble and just get through the day without incident, which becomes increasingly difficult as his various threads of concern are woven together, and his problems become to interact with each other, leading to confusion and hilarity.

Trevor D. Rhone was a world-renowned writer who stands as one of the greatest artists Jamaica has ever produced, with his novels and plays being insightful, interesting glimpses into the lives of ordinary people all around the country. Smile Orange is an interesting film for a number of reasons, one of them being that its popularity is seemingly restricted to its country of origin – reading about this film shows that in Jamaica, it is revered and considered one of the finest films to ever come out of the country. Yet it is almost entirely overlooked abroad, which was the impetus for seeking this film out overall. An adaptation of a play Rhone successfully staged, Smile Orange is a hilarious satire that may lack visual prowess and appears extremely rudimentary, but more than compensates for these shortcomings with bitingly funny commentary on the tourism industry, being the perfect blend between intelligent satire and broad slapstick that hearkens back to the earliest days of screen comedy. It is a delightful, quaint film that takes on a real issue with grace and hilarity, where we are encouraged to laugh not only at these characters and their various misadventures but Rhone’s penchant for lovingly poking fun at human foibles. This is not a very serious film, but it is firmly rooted within reality, and it remains a truly entertaining piece and a dastardly good time.

Exploring world cinema has always been a passion that I have continued to pursue. There are so many things watching films from various different countries can teach you. They usually enlighten audiences onto the socio-cultural context of that country, allowing us to compare our own customs and traditions with those of others. They introduce us to new and fascinating glimpses into the machinations of society and its manner of portraying certain concepts. More than anything, world cinema gives filmmakers from various countries the chance to tell their stories in a way that is unique to their vision. This is the only film that Rhone directed in this extensive career, and the acclaimed playwright brings life to a story that would otherwise have gone entirely amiss had he not presented it to us in this way. There are many flaws in Smile Orange, but none of them tarnishes the fact that while it may be mainly an outrageous, irreverent comedy, it is also a fascinating character study, and a terrific piece of social commentary that may have certain resonances beyond those restricted to this particular context (anyone who has even the slightest awareness of the tourism industry will undoubtedly be entertained by this film), but finds itself thriving the most when we are given the chance to explore the lives of these characters and see their daily routines and various hilarious obstacles that usually occur in such a volatile profession. Films like Smile Orange ultimately benefit everyone – it tells the stories of a society of people who are not represented as widely as others, and it allows audiences from across the world to have a direct glimpse into the lives of another social group, which makes for really compelling cinema, and a massive reason why its vital that we preserve and celebrate cinema from all corners of the globe.

There isn’t much going on in Smile Orange. Unlike Rhone’s other works, this film doesn’t focus on broad social epidemics or cultural issues but rather relies solely on presenting us with a story that operates on two different levels. The first, as mentioned above, is to give us a chance to see the trials and tribulations of a group of people who don’t often get such showcases outside of their own country. The second is one that is far more interesting – one can strongly assume the purpose of this film extends further than the intention of the play: it works on the tricky but effective “they’re just like us” premise. The waiters, bus-boys and employees of this hotel may be from a completely different culture to us, but they are shown to have the exact same problems, running into the same issues and finding themselves in hilarious situations that are universally understood. Its often been said that laughter is a universal language, and while this may be a bit of an overstatement, it seems to work here. Despite being set in Jamaica, Smile Orange doesn’t feel restricted to one particular national context – the issues these characters face are relatable to any culture. Rhone does quietly insert some deeper commentary, such as the nation’s poverty crisis and the rise of criminal activity by gangs, but these are not realized after the fact, with the film being mostly concerned with the lighter side of these characters, with even the most serious of situations being dealt with in a way that plays for laughs rather than sympathy (there’s an attack on the main character that bears resemblance to a gang ambush, but rather than being unsettling, the way it’s framed makes it undeniably hilarious). There isn’t much to this film, but what there is remains biting, clever and a terrific example of masterful satire.

Don’t let the lack of an immense budget fool you – Smile Orange has a lot of heart, more than enough to compensate for the narrative and visual shortcomings. One can’t help admire this film for its rampant heartfulness, and its ability to use its comedic prowess to overcome some of its more unavoidable flaws. This is by no means a perfect film, but its a fascinating snapshot of daily life in a country like Jamaica, which is rarely given the chance to be seen in such a positive, upbeat perspective. It also manages to tell an honest, earnest story that everyone, regardless of your background or origin, won’t only relate to, but also find so tremendously hilarious. Films like Smile Orange do well in satiating the curious viewer’s wanderlust in their own way, showing us a different side to our world that would’ve ultimately gone unseen had it not been for people like Rhone turning on a camera and presenting us with a film that may be rough around the edges (and sometimes impenetrable in understanding the context of many of these jokes), but ultimately a rewarding experience, because in spite of its deficiencies in some areas, its got a great deal of soul and a brilliant way of executing its story that just creates a warm, unique atmosphere and proves that this film is a gem, and deserves to be seen by a wider audience, because it really is just that special.