A lot of people criticize Adam Sandler movies for having $80 million dollar budgets with no discernible clues onscreen as to where that money went. Here we don't get to indulge in that past-time with a similar film done with at least four less zero's in the budget.
Writer / Director Fredianelli himself plays multiple characters in the film, a brave choice for sure as well as putting much of the opening flashback act in the hands of child actors and setting it in the 1980's. For the most part, I didn't notice any anachronisms and appreciate that the production designer took such great lengths to track down so many working old school nintendo games.
Much like Adam Sandler's PIXELS, the now grown-up lost souls of the video game generation will have a lot in common with the directionless hero of the film. In a similar scene to the opening of the 1982 "Marco Polo" TV movie, video game addict Vincent's dying mother asks him to go take care of something, in this case to reconcile with the widow and child of his deceased twin brother. Twisted motives, romance, and male bonding ensues, most of which involves the playing of old school video games in some way.
After an O.K. start, the subsequent raunchy humor and awkwardness didn't get a lot of laughs out of me. Fredianelli somehow manages to keep Vincent fairly likable despite having no redeeming qualities. At one point Vincent becomes a homeless vagrant mentored by a veteran transient played by small-time actor James Allen Brewer.
An aside note here: while a lot of the actors here put in some great work, James Allen Brewer completely OWNS this movie. His performance as a washed up alcoholic bum complete with slurred speech and soiled clothing might be one of the most spot-on characterizations of our time! The film is worth watching simply for him, in certainly a huge step up and turnaround from his workmanlike show as a "tough guy gangster" in the only other film I'd seen him in previously, AMERICAN MOONSHINE. Brewer also puts in good work in another film made the same year BLOOD RELATIVE in which he goes back to playing a gangster character, but his performance here is truly a sight to behold. It's a shame that he isn't in the film more.
Much of the film revolves around a very awkward dinner scene with a reasonable amount a tension. I kept anticipating things to get a lot more wild and crazy than they ended up going, leaving me a bit cold and underwhelmed by this viewing experience. THE REDEMPTION OF VINCENT YOUNG is a mixed bag for sure but contains some of the most surprisingly good acting you'll find in such a low budget movie.
