WENT TO CONEY ISLAND ON A MISSION FROM GOD…BE BACK BY FIVE: FORGOTTEN FRIEND

Talk about a mouthful for a title! I’d never heard of this movie so when I saw it being released as part of the MVD Rewind collection I was interested. What I ended up watching was a well-made movie that entertains well enough but makes you think even more.

Jon Cryer (who also helped produce and write the script for the film) stars as Daniel, one of three grown friends who now works at an unglamorous job at a cash advance/credit company. His friend Stan (Rick Stear) hasn’t done near as well. Bouncing from job to job he currently works at his uncle’s pizza joint. In addition to that Stan also has a drinking and gambling problem.

The two grew up in the streets of NYC and became fast friends early on. Stan had a problem with one leg shorter than the other that forced him to wear a corrective shoe. An operation intended to help and lengthen one leg didn’t work out well and left Stand with a limp as well as a permanent brace. It also led to his views on life being unfair, the cause for his drinking. As the two grew up they made friends with another boy named Richie (Rafael Baez), the school stud who taught them how to talk to girls and was later rumored to have made the move on every girl in their class.

One day Stan shows at Daniel’s job and tells him the two of them need to leave. Pretending his grandmother passed away (a trick they employed as children) he tells Daniel they’re “on a mission from God”, a phrase they used to use. It turns out neither has seen Richie in years and someone has told Stan that they saw him homeless and living on the streets at Coney Island. With winter coming on the pair head there with the hope of saving their old friend.

The movie uses a combination of flashbacks and current adventures among different characters to tell the story. In flashbacks we discover what it was that led to the breakup of these friends, a secret of Richie’s that brings into doubt his way with the ladies. We also learn about Stan’s romance with Gabby (Ione Skye) that has carried on to the present. But even there things aren’t always what they seem.

On the boardwalk of Coney Island this pair show to find the location closed for the season for the most part. Venturing in to those places still open (a freak show, a restaurant, a ski ball place) they encounter various people on their journey to find Richie. In the end that journey isn’t just a discovery involving Richie but one for Stan as well, the culmination of a lifetime of poor choices and anger fueled attitude. Each person they talk to brings them closer to finding Richie and at the same time brining Stan closer to facing his own truths.

The movie works well on all levels. Each of the characters the two come across add to the story, revealing things about themselves that they both apply to their own lives. Of the two of them Daniel is the more stable, a solid worker in a boring thankless job with a slow moving love life. And as the travel through Coney Island he remains the more reasonable one. But it takes the efforts of both to find the solution to the problem of locating Richie.

The three actors in the lead roles turn in fine performances. A quick search at imdb for Stear finds little information and a short list of performances. That’s too bad as he does a solid job here. Cryer went on to much bigger things making it big in 2003 with the hit series TWO AND A HALF MEN. He too does a fine job here in a role that allows him to be the solid member of a group of friends rather than the oddball characters he’d played in the past. Baez doesn’t get much screen time but he leaves behind a character you’re not likely to forget.

As I said the movie is part of MVD’s Rewind series, movies that once graced the shelves of mom and pop video stores across the country. They made sure this is the finest presentation of the film with a high Definition Blu-ray 1080p presentation of the main feature from a frame-by-frame digital restoration from original 35mm film elements. Included in the extras are a new introduction for the film featuring director Richard Schenkman and Cryer, an audio commentary track with both, a behind the scenes making of featurette, THE PRODUCER a comedy short directed by Schenkman, a photo gallery, the original theatrical trailer and a collectible mini-poster.

The end result is an entertaining drama that is worth taking a look at. Fans of Cryer will want to make this a part of their collection. And if not fans this movie might make you one. It’s definitely worth watching.

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