Role: Lilli Hargrave
Genre: Drama , Adventure
Director: William A. Graham
Based on: “The Garden of God” by Henry De Vere Stacpoole
Running time: 101 min
Release Date: August 2, 1991
Additional Cast: Brian Krause, Lisa Pelikan
Synopsis
A widow, her infant daughter, and a young orphaned boy are cast off from the ship they are travelling on, and are stranded on a deserted island. The widow tries to raise them to be civilised, but soon gives up, as the boy, Richard (Brian Krause), was born and raised by young lovers on this same island, and he influences the widow’s daughter, Lilli (Milla). They grow up, and the widow teaches them from the bible, as well as from her own knowledge. When they are about eight, she dies, leaving them to finish raising themselves.
Nominations
1991 // Golden Raspberry Awards
Nominee: Worst Director – William A. Graham
Nominee: Worst New Star – Milla Jovovich
Nominee: Worst New Star – Brian Krause
Nominee: Worst Picture – William A. Graham
Nominee: Worst Screenplay – Leslie Stevens
Young Artist Awards
Nominee: Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture – Milla Jovovich
Production
The film was shot on location in Australia and Taveuni, Fiji and is a sequel to the 1980 remake The Blue Lagoon, starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. Return to the Blue Lagoon bears a strong similarity to the original film, which was produced and directed by Randal Kleiser, but picks up from where the original film left off. It is almost nothing like The Garden of God, Henry De Vere Stacpoole’s sequel to his novel The Blue Lagoon. However, in the second sequel novel, The Gates of Morning, a pair of sailors attack the people of a nearby island because they know its waters are rich with pearls, and it is possible the filmmakers used this. Richard is the child of Richard and Emmeline Lestrange of the original film, who both are revealed to be dead at the beginning and are buried at sea. The new shipwreck occurred mere days after they were found where the crew is struck with cholera.
Although many of the film’s elements were derived from the 1980 Blue Lagoon film, and there was some nudity, the film was much more sanitized in content than its predecessor, and was able to garner a PG-13 rating in the United States. Despite the adult content of this film, including partial nudity (controversially, from a 15-year-old Milla Jovovich) and sexual themes, when Return to the Blue Lagoon was released to home video, it was promoted in North America as a family film suitable for all ages. The DVD version of this film is reframed to cut out Milla Jovovich’s breasts in the scene where she’s looking at herself in the mirror. The older VHS version showed her nipples at the very bottom of the screen
Critical Response
The film received even worse reviews than its predecessor. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rare approval rating of 0% based on 32 reviews and an average rating of 2.7/10. The site’s consensus reads: “Despite its lush tropical scenery and attractive leads, Return to the Blue Lagoon is as ridiculous as its predecessor, and lacks the prurience and unintentional laughs that might make it a guilty pleasure”. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 28 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating “generally unfavorable reviews”. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of “B” on scale of A+ to F.