I stumbled on this film on USA last night, about 15 minutes in. It was alternately comedic and touching, with Lenny Baker playing a 20-something (Larry Lapinsky) in Greenwich Village in the '50s. Shelley Winter played his mother, who had a knack for showing up at the most inopportune moments and embarrassing her son. Both of them, along with Mike Kellin as Mr. Lapinsky, give excellent nuanced performances.
The central action of the movie is around Larry's attempts to become an actor, and around his friends in the village. The dialog is generally snappy and both dialog and visuals can be out-loud funny at times. 7/10.
Next Stop, Greenwich Village
1976
Action / Comedy / Drama
Next Stop, Greenwich Village
1976
Action / Comedy / Drama
Plot summary
An aspiring Jewish actor moves out of his parents' Brooklyn apartment to seek his fortune in the bohemian life of Greenwich Village in 1953.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
July 26, 2018 at 01:30 PM
Director
Top cast
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Great period piece
Mazursky has always gone back and forth
The previous reviewer said that "Next Stop, Greenwich Village" was one of the last chances to show Greenwich Village in its original form before it got gentrified. I have to admit that I wouldn't have known that. But whether or not one knows that, the movie is still fairly enjoyable, as a young man (Lenny Baker; happy birthday, Lenny!) moves to the area hoping to make something of himself. I will say that it seems sort of like Paul Mazursky made the movie more to please himself than anything else, as the movie drags at times. But overall, it's a pretty enjoyable flick. Also starring Shelley Winters, Ellen Greene, Lois Smith, Christopher Walken, Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear on "Starsky and Hutch"), Lou Jacobi and Jeff Goldblum.
"Remember where you came from..."
Writer-director Paul Mazursky's ode to his colorful hungry years, and the experience of leaving home for the first time and setting out on your own. Cheeky Jewish graduate from Brooklyn in 1953 relocates to the Village, getting an apartment, a semi-serious girlfriend, and a spot in the avant garde crowd. Though his mother disapproves, our hero, working in a health food shop, studies to be an actor, gets his girl pregnant, and clearly sees the dreams and hopes of his new friends flair up and fizzle out--yet never losing his own personal ambition. Mazursky, who also co-produced the film, has created a meticulously-detailed encapsulation of a particular time and place, peopled with characters one can easily recognize. There's a sweet simplicity in the protagonist's friendships--and with his over-protective parents--but nothing is really nuanced for us. Mazursky lays it all right there on the surface (which is why the film will work best on a first-time viewing: everything you need to catch can be caught). While it isn't always subtle, and the gloppy cinematography and poor lighting sometimes causes the actors to look a bit frightful, the movie has a very big heart. This is detectable early on, yet it isn't until the finale that you come to appreciate what the characters have gone through (the parents as well). The picture is also a showcase for lots of budding talent circa 1976, with Chris Walken, Antonio Fargas, Dori Brenner, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Egan, and John C. Becher all doing terrific bits of business. In the lead, Lenny Baker is photographed very badly (with his jagged teeth glinting in the movie lights), but he warms to his role, and by the finish has created a three-dimensional man whom we really hope will succeed. **1/2 from ****