Flamingo Kid

Good movie, worth owning, part for the time it represents, and part because of all the good acting (understated and funny). Richard Crenna plays a great pompous jerk (are we sure he's acting?) Hector Elizondo plays one of his best parts ever as the DAD ("Now he knows Kings!"), and Gretzky's wife even does a half decent job. Fisher Stevens and Bronson Pinchot play good supporting roles as well. Matt Dillon does a great job as a kid who's enamored with Crenna's BS. (One actress who is hot as hell is Carole Davis, who plays Crenna's daughter, and who I am almost positive was a Penthouse Pet at one time. She was also in "Mannequin" and "Shrimp on the Barbie". Hotter than Gretzky's wife).......Anyway, good lines, good script, good ending, good movie.

This Matt Dillon vehicle serves as the light-hearted equivalent to "A Bronx Tale." Richard Crenna plays the Chazz Palmentieri role as the idolized kingpin and Hector Elizondo plays the Robert DeNiro role of the honorable working class father. There is some memorable dialogue, cute humor, and distinctive card playing (the upside down fan). But, best of all, are the coming of age lessons that are taught to Dillon's character about values, hard work, and summer romance. In the latter category, the movie is aided immensely by the refreshing debut of Janet Jones (now best known as Mrs. Wayne Gretsky). I recommend this without reservation!

A great cast but the storyline is about a kid coming of age during a summer stint as a valet/cabana boy at a Long Island Beach Club. Matt Dillon does a fine job in this role as a lead. He holds his own against heavyweights like Richard Crenna and Hector Elizondo. There is Jessica Walter who played bored Mrs. Brody. The cast also featured Martha Gehman as the sister, Nikki, to Dillon's Jeffrey Willis in the role. While Jeffrey's father, Arthur, is not too happy that his son is working at the club, he deals with it and Mr. Brody's influence over him. Arthur Willis is a hard working plumber who lives with his family in a Brooklyn apartment and not a spacious mansion in Long Island like the club's crowd. I also recall seeing Fisher Stevens and Brian McNamara play his friends and Bronson Pinchot in a small role as well. It's a fine film with some comedic moments but not too many and a predictable ending.

Garry Marshall certainly had a feel for the mood and atmosphere of New York in the Kennedy years in directing The Flamingo Kid. I knew someone who practically lived at the Brighton Beach Baths in Brooklyn growing up and who played a mean competitive paddle tennis.

Matt Dillon is our hero protagonist at the Long Island summer beach club where the boys live for the tips. But the guests here tip like Frank Sinatra, in fact some of them are paying their way through college. They're rich and like to thrown their money around. Just have your hand out and catch as a cabana boy.

Dillon is a working class kid with parents Hector Elizondo and Jessica Walter and dad's a working guy all his life and like every other parent hopes his kid will do better than being a plumber. Funny thing is that plumbers do very well and the work is steady.

But Dillon falls under the influence of charismatic car dealer Richard Crenna who eschews the value of education. He's Donald Trump with a little more polish. He also has a nice side income in some high stakes gin rummy games with some regulars at the cabana.

Essentially Dillon has to make a choice and get an education or go to work as Crenna's dealership. For all their smoothness it would probably astound Crenna at how much he does not know, but he probably wouldn't care.

Let's say Crenna is not quite the hero Dillon first thinks he is. Matt does a lot of growing up at that cabana that summer.

The Flamingo Kid is an acting duel between Dillon and Crenna. Dillon strikes a lot of emotions as the tough kid from Brooklyn who makes the right moves in the end. Crenna does one of the best performances in his career as a charming, but sneaky and potentially dangerous if the conflict was more than a gin rummy game.

Garry Marshall gives us a winner with The Flamingo Kid.

Charming comedy from Garry Marshall starring Dillon as a Brooklyn teenager taken aback by the smooth lifestyles at a posh beach club. At the club he meets swift characters like car dealer Richard Crenna, in a wonderful role and the lovely Janet Jones, before the Gretzky. Hector Elizondo is also stand out as Dillon's father. Marshall also wrote the script for the film and it flows with heart and humor all the way through.