rollo_tomaso

An old-fashioned sweet movie, sort of Being There meets Cocoon. Only Shelly Winters is out of place in a one-note portrayal as the evil owner. This is a fitting valedictory for Carroll O'Connor who trots out his Archie Bunker accent for the occasion. Barbara Bain is marvelous and steals every scene she is in. Charlton Heston and Shirley Jones make me wish I could look, talk, and act like them at their age --- heck, make that even at my age, and they have 30 years on me. This has a sweet and winning charm, It may be a bit too much saccharine for hardened hearts, must most of us sentimental softies will want to watch it again and again.

Joe Pantaliano, Wade Dominguez, and Robert Townsend make for a most interesting crimestopping team. This is a blue collar, unglamorous tale. Pantaliano's character is no superhero: he's a tax investigator and a family man (Great line: "I'm not interested in sex. I'm married.") with a rough-hewn manner and an unpleasant disposition. Dominguez is a great balance who goes along with Pantiliano for the ride as he does in life. The film is dedicated to his memory so he died very young. Townsend is perfect as the ambitious D. A. who finally agrees to take the case. Michael Chiklis (The Commish) nearly steals the film as a sympathetic Russian businessman being hunted by Russian mafia hit men. He is terrific in all of his scenes and teaches the boys about Russian life in Brighton Beach.

I originally saw this atmospheric turn-of-the-century comedy in the theaters in 1969, and recently saw it during the wee hours on a cable station. It still is charming and a lot of fun. Hume Cronyn is a standout in a key supporting role as a crooked politician. George Kennedy supplies a marvelous counterpoint to Bridges' wide-eyed male inguenue. And Margot Kidder nearly steals the film in her film debut as the prostitute who guides Bridges on his journey to manhood.

FYI -- another reviewer mistakenly referred to this as Beau Bridges' first movie, but he was only 20 years off. As a juvenile Bridges appeaed in 3 films -- most notably The Red Pony. As a teen, he was marvelous in the Explosive Generation as high school sex-ed teacher William Shatner's classroom nemesis. In 1967, he was riveting as the crippled hero in Larry Peerce's classic, The Incident.