When my brother and I were kids and got to go to the video store (always a sacred journey) we usually picked comedy & action films. If it starred a cast member from Saturday Night Live's first five years you can bet we brought it home (Belushi & Aykroyd, Chevy Chase & so on). The Star Wars trilogy was rented hundreds of times, as was the James Bond series... for little kids in the 80's, we considered ourselves pretty cool.
One Saturday we're driven upstate to a sleepover at our Uncle's. It's now almost 1990, and he's taken the liberty of renting a movie for my brother, myself, and my cousin to watch. It's "The Prince Of Central Park," and the eye-rolling began immediately. Our conservative Uncle had intentionally avoided mainstream Hollywood fare and had sought out a G-rated made-for-TV movie from 1977! In the words of my twelve year-old self, "Yuzz..." We couldn't even get out of it... he joined the three of us on the couch and pressed PLAY.
And then something funny happened... instead of the toothless, wholesome hayride I expected I found myself watching an engaging, wistful drama about a boy who runs away from his abusive foster home to find his birth mother. He makes a home for himself in the trees of Central Park and meets some eccentric old people who turn out to be just as unhappy- and restless- as he is. This movie is sweet, and romantic, in every sense of the word. Ruth Gordon is wonderful as always, and though I'm fuzzy on the exact ending, I'm pretty sure I had to hold back the tears so no one would see I was crying.
Imagine a TV movie that isn't designed to shock, offend, or target a particular demographic... a movie whose sole purpose is not to earn it's lead actors Emmy nominations... try and picture a film that's gentle and imaginative... a movie about children and the elderly that treats both groups as intelligent human beings with hearts and souls. I know it's tough to imagine but I guess they really did make them this way. Too bad it was before my time too...
I can't speak about the mainstream Hollywood re-make of 2ooo... I never saw it. Not interested. But if you ever get the chance to see this once-in-a-lifetime find I would advise you not to miss it... you will never forget it.
GRADE: A
