Unter Freunden

Billy's line after Andy uses the word "diss" is so applicable to society today...anyone remember it? Vic & Eddy are thoroughly entertaining, Jackie Tratner is awesome & the soundtrack is fantastic for early 90's tunes!!

This movie is a must see for young wannabe gangsters. It has a measure of authenticity that is absent from other films in the genre. The story takes you from the childhood through the young adulthood of three "friends", one of which is overambitious and jealous of his former cohert that just returned from prison (After doing a stint for the very guy that turns out to be his nemesis). This movie captures the essence of being young in an underground environment and having aspirations of criminal life. If you grew up in New York or Chicago, this movie is a must see and you will definitely relate. It also is a shining example of where "the life" can get you. That is to say.....absolutely nowhere!

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I may be somewhat biased insofar as I grew up in the five towns and went to school there. Although the film has drawn some criticism as simply being a "Mean Streets" with the seedy, urban locale transposed to a wealthy, suburban environment, this is not the whole story. Similar events to those depicted in the film were happening with kids in these areas, so it really is not a mere rehash of Scorcese. The plot involves three inseparable childhood friends, sons of wealth and privilege. Andy (Steve Parlavecchio), Trevor (Patrick McGaw), and Billy (Joseph Lindsey), grow up in the Five Towns L.I. They enjoyed doing petty crimes as youngsters for the respect it earned them as well as to escape boredom. After finishing high school, in the late 1980s, Billy asks Andy to make a drug delivery for him. Once Andy says yes, the stage is set for a story involving drugs, wealth, Jewish gangsters, and the bonds of friendship. Definitely worth a look if you enjoy this type of film, but admittedly falls somewhat short of its lofty goals insofar as a lack of character development and overall plot structure. Interesting note - Mira Sorvino shows glimpses of the future in her first real movie role in the film.

I know somebody who worked on this movie -- that is the only reason I watched more than 10 minutes of this garbage. This is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Poorly written and acted, trite, hackneyed plot, and actors who all look alike spewing the F word every other second. Somehow, this dazzled people at Sundance years ago, but I think a better quality of independent film has sprung up since then. If this were released today, it would never make it to Sundance, and would never get distribution.

Did anyone else catch Johnny Drama filming the Edward Burns pilot on Entourage, and borrowing the same dialogue that Bobby (Rob Weiss, co-Exec Producer of the show) utters just before the robbery scene?

"Nobody went up there and told you nuttin. It's not the same anymore. It's different now. It's not just happenin over there - it's not just happenin over there - it's happenin here - it's happenin everywhere. All tree of 'em went - boom, boom, boom - one after the next..."

Rob Weiss didn't write that episode though - some dude named Brian Burns did. Maybe Weiss got to have some fun inserting his favorite tough guy talk from 13 years ago into that little movie within a show...