← Back to Reviews
in
Lost in Yonkers
Neil Simon and director Martha Coolidge score a direct bullseye with the 1993 film version of Simon's play Lost in Yonkers, a warm and nostalgic comedy-drama that doesn't provide the rapid-paced one-liners we're accustomed to from Simon, but there are genuine laughs and drama provided from richly drawn characters brought to life by a winning cast.
It's the summer of 1942 when two young boys named Jay and Arty are sent to live with their iron-fisted grandmother (Irene Worth) and their simple-minded Aunt Bella (Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl), when their father has to travel around the country for his job. Jay and Arty are immediately intimated by their grandmother and so are the rest of Yonkers. They are confused by their overly emotional Aunt Bella, who has begun a romance with a 40 year old movie usher named Johnny (David Strathairn), but is terrified to tell her mother about it. Then there's Uncle Louie (Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss), a wannabe wiseguy who temporarily returns home because he's on the run from the mob.
Simon's play opened on Broadway on February 21, 1991 and ran for almost two years with Ruehl and Worth creating the roles of Bella and Grandma and that's no coincidence because these two characters are the meat and potatoes of this family drama, even though the characters are presented through the eyes of the two boys. These characters are so richly drawn and completely believable that the viewer can't help but be drawn up in their conflict. The mental issues behind Bella aren't really explained and neither is grandmother's hostility toward everything and everybody. The first time we see Grandma strike Bella with a cane, Bella's reaction implies that constant beating with the cane might have something to do with her mental faculties. We do gain some insight into Grandma through stories that Bella and Uncle Louie share with the boys from their childhood, which have affected Bella and Louie very differently. Bella has found escape through the movies and Louie just escaped.
Director Martha Coolidge is to be applauded for the handsome attention to period detail here. The 1940's are vividly brought to life here with authentic settings, vehicles, and costumes. LOVED that candy store and the gas station where the boys and father stop for gas at the beginning of the film.
The performances are superb, for the most part. Ruehl is just dazzling as Aunt Bella, an effervescent performance that should have earned her an Oscar nomination, matched note for note by Worth's steely grandma. Dreyfuss is a bit much as Uncle Louie, though I have to admit I kept imagining Kevin Spacey in the role, who played Louie on Broadway. Art direction/set direction and Elmer Bernstein's lovely music are the icing on this sentimental and richly entertaining cake.
Neil Simon and director Martha Coolidge score a direct bullseye with the 1993 film version of Simon's play Lost in Yonkers, a warm and nostalgic comedy-drama that doesn't provide the rapid-paced one-liners we're accustomed to from Simon, but there are genuine laughs and drama provided from richly drawn characters brought to life by a winning cast.
It's the summer of 1942 when two young boys named Jay and Arty are sent to live with their iron-fisted grandmother (Irene Worth) and their simple-minded Aunt Bella (Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl), when their father has to travel around the country for his job. Jay and Arty are immediately intimated by their grandmother and so are the rest of Yonkers. They are confused by their overly emotional Aunt Bella, who has begun a romance with a 40 year old movie usher named Johnny (David Strathairn), but is terrified to tell her mother about it. Then there's Uncle Louie (Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss), a wannabe wiseguy who temporarily returns home because he's on the run from the mob.
Simon's play opened on Broadway on February 21, 1991 and ran for almost two years with Ruehl and Worth creating the roles of Bella and Grandma and that's no coincidence because these two characters are the meat and potatoes of this family drama, even though the characters are presented through the eyes of the two boys. These characters are so richly drawn and completely believable that the viewer can't help but be drawn up in their conflict. The mental issues behind Bella aren't really explained and neither is grandmother's hostility toward everything and everybody. The first time we see Grandma strike Bella with a cane, Bella's reaction implies that constant beating with the cane might have something to do with her mental faculties. We do gain some insight into Grandma through stories that Bella and Uncle Louie share with the boys from their childhood, which have affected Bella and Louie very differently. Bella has found escape through the movies and Louie just escaped.
Director Martha Coolidge is to be applauded for the handsome attention to period detail here. The 1940's are vividly brought to life here with authentic settings, vehicles, and costumes. LOVED that candy store and the gas station where the boys and father stop for gas at the beginning of the film.
The performances are superb, for the most part. Ruehl is just dazzling as Aunt Bella, an effervescent performance that should have earned her an Oscar nomination, matched note for note by Worth's steely grandma. Dreyfuss is a bit much as Uncle Louie, though I have to admit I kept imagining Kevin Spacey in the role, who played Louie on Broadway. Art direction/set direction and Elmer Bernstein's lovely music are the icing on this sentimental and richly entertaining cake.