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The Age of Commercialism

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

This is one of the best movies I have seen -- in its quiet, understated way, it has made it to my top 10. The performances and direction is superb, the moral conflict depicted with great sensitivity. Most of all, this movie is very well written. It will either inspire you to become a screenwriter or if you are one, it will show you what great writing is all about. I am glad the producers saw the gold in the script, gathered the finances from several sponsors (see the list at the end of the movie) and "walked the walk" in bringing this elegant story to the screen. Put it on your netflix list and bump it to the top of your list! It'll show you how movies ought to be made.

It seemed strange to see the decidedly outer-borough "Two Family House" at an expensive Manhattan movie theater, until during the opening credits two old ladies sat in front of me, put their coats on the two seats between them, and proceeded to loudly comment on the proceedings to each other throughout the whole movie. Much like the friends of the protagonists do in this very sweet yet honest depiction of post-WWII life on Staten Island when an off-islander disrupts the quotidian.While it drags a bit here and there, and the voice-over narration sometimes re-states the already visually obvious, the very New York characters (including one played by "Pussy" of "The Sopranos") are real people in real situations and realistic traps. This is less schmaltzy than Barry Levinson's Baltimore nostalgia-fests. Filmed in Staten Island, Jersey City and Bayonne, the settings are accompanied by lovely period music by the John Pizzarelli Trio (who also does a cameo appearance as Julius LaRosa).This is one of those small, charming indie movies that seems to be a labor of love, like a jewel of a short story.(originally written 10/14/2000)

Late afternoon on a monday, flipping through my 8 chanels of HBO, I found this little number and feel all the richer for it. Good acting and genuine make a shoestring budget feel and slightly implausible plot fade into the recesses of your disbelief. A warm, poignant story about the kind of guy that we can all relate to.

I enjoyed this film overall. The cast turns in some outstanding performances, without a doubt the film's greatest strength. My problems with the film had more to do with the argument being made. Buddy Visalo, an Italian-American man with an entrepreneurial fire burning in his soul, just can't seem to make any of his business ventures pan out. Complicating matters is his wife, Estelle, who wants him to cease these hair-brained schemes and get a good, dependable job that will support a nice house and a family. So you have an otherwise happy couple who just can't give each other what they need most in life. She needs a husband who can be a dependable provider, he needs a wife who will always believe in him and support his goals. The film is clearly sympathetic to the goal-oriented male, expounding the virtues of always striving for success and never giving up no matter how crazy your idea may seem to others. I left the theatre wondering how the story would have panned out if it had been directed by a woman, or for that matter, a mother.Grade: B