A middle-aged American living in Paris re-lives his very difficult, unusual coming of age in early 1970s New York.
Interesting that so many critics roasted this film while so many IMDb users sincerely loved it.
Funny thing is, I agree with both groups! I concede that the plot is often contrived, the adult-looking-back framework is awkwardly handled, and it stretches credulity that Tommy the teen-aged hero would befriend both a mentally challenged janitor and a woman prisoner sitting in the window of the local jailhouse.
And yet...I hung on every word and wept buckets as I haven't done in years. Some of the reasons are personal and subjective: I'm the mom of a precocious boy just a little younger than the hero. I'm the same age as David Ducovny, grew up in NYC and share his nostalgia for a pre-Gentrification NY that was scruffier, more colorful and in some ways more fun than the cleaned-up, ridiculously overpriced city of today.
But I also think the critics snubbed a film that really has a lot going for it. Anton Yelchin who plays Tommy the boy is a remarkably gifted and appealing actor; Tea Leoni seemed very real as his widowed mother, a loving woman driven over the edge by difficult circumstances; and though I think Robin Williams is sometimes way over the top, he was very moving as the boy's simple-minded but brave friend. Erykah Badu was another stand-out, soulful and hilarious as Tommy's wise jailhouse pal.
All these characters are underdogs, very sympathetic and beautifully portrayed underdogs, and that's why I think this is such an effective tear-jerker if not a great work of art.
Interesting that so many critics roasted this film while so many IMDb users sincerely loved it.
Funny thing is, I agree with both groups! I concede that the plot is often contrived, the adult-looking-back framework is awkwardly handled, and it stretches credulity that Tommy the teen-aged hero would befriend both a mentally challenged janitor and a woman prisoner sitting in the window of the local jailhouse.
And yet...I hung on every word and wept buckets as I haven't done in years. Some of the reasons are personal and subjective: I'm the mom of a precocious boy just a little younger than the hero. I'm the same age as David Ducovny, grew up in NYC and share his nostalgia for a pre-Gentrification NY that was scruffier, more colorful and in some ways more fun than the cleaned-up, ridiculously overpriced city of today.
But I also think the critics snubbed a film that really has a lot going for it. Anton Yelchin who plays Tommy the boy is a remarkably gifted and appealing actor; Tea Leoni seemed very real as his widowed mother, a loving woman driven over the edge by difficult circumstances; and though I think Robin Williams is sometimes way over the top, he was very moving as the boy's simple-minded but brave friend. Erykah Badu was another stand-out, soulful and hilarious as Tommy's wise jailhouse pal.
All these characters are underdogs, very sympathetic and beautifully portrayed underdogs, and that's why I think this is such an effective tear-jerker if not a great work of art.