Gangster Kid

"Touch and Go" is all about Keaton as an aloof, materialistic, all business Hockey star who becomes involved with his antithetical female counterpart though happenstance; a down-on-her-luck babe (Alonso) with an unruly street kid. At issue: Will they be able to bridge their chasm differences and find happiness? Well, it's all touch and go in this romcom with unrealized potential. "T&G" is watchable and moderately entertaining but could have used more heart and less filler. Worth a look for romantic comedy sentimentalists. (C+)

This was a great film to watch and very entertaining. I picked it up cheap in the local DVD store and wasn't expecting anything much. However I was surprised that I really enjoyed it. The characters were believable and well scripted. All the actors were good, especially in the more comic moments of the film. However the little boy was especially impressive in his role of a streetwise child running wild. The relationships between the characters are carefully developed and you find yourself caring about what happens to them. It was especially interesting to see the much younger Michael Keaton and Maria Conchita Alonso. All round good family entertainment.

I would strongly recommend it.

I did not like this movie. I did not like Michael Keaton either, or Maria Conchita Alonso, or them getting together. I did like the kid played by Ajay Naidu a little. The kid is Luis and one evening he and three others including the dangerous Lupo try to rob Bobby Barbato (Keaton) who is the hockey star from Chicago. Luis claims he was only a helper. Bobby feels a little sorry for the kid so he takes him out to dinner and delivers him with his mom Denise (Alonso). Luis' mother wants to make up with Bobby and take him out to dinner. They end up in bed, what is very normal for Bobby, and for him it has to end there. Since this is a romantic comedy it can't end there, so it doesn't. Luis, a troubled kid, and his actions make sure Bobby and Denise keep seeing each other. As little sub-plots we have Bobby's hockey and the Lupo-situation. Especially that second sub-plot is stupid and is only there to show what kind of hero Bobby van be in the end.

Why I didn't like most of the characters? Bobby can't make up his mind. He is not a nice guy in my opinion. We see how aggressive he gets in a hockey game, we see how he treats people (mostly women, although they probably don't mind), how he talks to reporters and how he handles the Luis/Denise situation. All this is egocentric and suddenly something hits him and he becomes a nice fellow. I didn't buy it, probably because I disliked him too much before he became a nice guy. And for Denise, she really is annoying. Although Bobby is a jerk to her too, most people probably would have done the same to her. She gets on your nerves. May be I am a little too hard for her because sometimes she can be charming, but never in a way Audrey Hepburn, Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts can be charming. The only character a little likeable was Luis but even he gets on your nerves. It seems he has to make a problem of everything just to drive the plot into the next scene where Bobby and Denise have to meet again. Personally I could never really like the kid, he is just too much of a trouble maker.

As for the performances, they are pretty good. It is that the characters are annoying and not believable but Michael Keaton and Maria Conchita Alonso do the best they can. The best performance in the movie comes from the kid Ajay Naidu. You believe him when he is angry or sad, even when it doesn't make any sense. They all deserve better characters, a better plot and definitely a better ending. If you are a fan of romantic comedies you will find some nice things but if you have a choice you want to see a different movie.

Not a very believable storyline especially in today's sports crazy environment... a sports star can have any girl he/she wants, but in this movie the hero falls in love with a destitute mother of one... (I guess this happened to Troy, but...).

The few hockey scenes that are left in the movie give a taste of what could have been... they are nicely done, but too few... the rest of the movie is a little convoluted. Rent before buying...

Michael Keaton, cast as Bobby "The Hornet" Barbato, the star player on a Chicago ice hockey team, is in terrific physical shape and gives this formula "feel good" movie whatever vitality it has. Bobby is mugged after a game in the parking lot by a young boy and his teenage gang; he ends up begrudgingly giving a helping hand to the belligerent kid while also dating the boy's mother. Director Robert Mandel, a stage director who made an impressive movie debut with 1983's "Independence Day", can't shake off the sitcom cobwebs here. Everything--from the kid's perpetually disgusted expression to the exaggerated reactions of the waiter while Keaton and Maria Conchita Alonso change their dinner orders--is underlined, slammed home. Nothing in the picture feels fresh or comes off natural, certainly not the ugly, combative dialogue by the three screenwriters, Alan Ormsby, Bob Sand and Harry Colomby (also the executive producer). Back to the plot: Alonso is next in line to get hit by the gang of punks (who apparently have nothing else to do but bully this family). By the time Keaton tracks them down (with help from the kid), you might be wishing for the typical assembly-line finale with an important hockey game hanging in the balance. * from ****