Goodnight, Joseph Parker

GOODNIGHT,JOSEPH PARKER (aka LAST CALL) is what every festival circuit film yearns to be: compelling, dramatic,and with a keen insight to the human spirit. I saw it at a preview screening and really liked it. Starring Paul Sorvino, Nick Chinlund and Debi Mazar, it is a film similar to Sorvino's THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON. Like that film, it shows how the past never really goes away and can wreak havoc with the present. The performances are uniformly excellent--with Sorvino being both gruff and tragic. The film also has a great music score--very jazzy and more appropriate to the action than you would think. The writer, director, and producer is Dennis Brooks, whom I haven't heard of before. I get the impression that he's probably a playwright trying to cross over because the movie seems somewhat stagy. Nevertheless, it's highly visual, almost like a color WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? My big question is, why hasn't this movie been released theatrically yet?

Powerful character-driven drama of 5 old friends who reunite in a basement bar in New Jersey. Tells the story of Joey Parker who, after 7 years of being away, has come back to find his ex, Muriel, and ask her to marry him. Joey convinces everyone that he is on the brink of becoming famous - which is a total lie. He is obsessed with Muriel and will stop at nothing to get her back. Unfortunately, Joey finds that you can never go back home as things are not as they were when he left. Paul Sorvino gives a masterful performance as the father figure who accepts Joey back, in spite of his delusions. An emotionally intense movie with some hilarious performances by "Aerosmith" lead, Steven Tyler. A must see.

Goodnight Joseph Parker

OK, this is a tough one. My friend possibly coined it best when as we silently left the theatre suddenly said "Well, that's about enough to make you want to open a vein." Reminiscent of Tennessee Williams and as mentioned before 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" the film wreaked of darkness, inner tensions and hopelessness.

The dirge begins in a small very dirty bar containing a washed up owner (Sorvino) , a cocktail waitress (Mazar)and one greasy loser patron (Edson).

They are arguing about where everyone went and why. Edson lets on that he has a "secret" but won't tell what it is. There is some very good camera work and especially the XCUs on Sorvino to enhance the maudlin of his character. It's intense...I'm hooked.

Then, here comes the comic relief in the form of Steven Tyler. He comes in as this scum-bucket loud-mouthed trashy punk (a part he didn't seem to have much trouble pulling off) yelling at the other loser that it was time to go. He had about a 4 minute scene in which he talked some trash, got some laughs and then made a grand exit by being chased out.

It turns out the "secret" is Joey Parker(Chinlund) is coming "home" He's a local boy gone good in the citaay. Supposed to be guesting on the Jay Leno show soon they all hear ! He turns the mood around , getting drunk and promising to do a show in the bar to bring the customers back in. The cocktail waitress is in love with him. There's singing , dancing. Then as the roller-coaster clicks to the top he asks about their old friend "Monkey".

Well, Monkey is no more and there is a lot of underlying tension about how and why. From there it plummets into a deeper and deeper funk. The ex-girl friend (Dickens) that he intends to ask to marry him shows up. She's a junkie ho-bag, her and the owner have words. She gets some cash from JP. More fantastic secrets are revealed. Entangling more and more emotions and blather of the small town life centered around this scummy bar. This went on for another half hour or so until everyone is very drunk and numerous emotional catastrophes have transpired.

Again, here comes Tyler to lighten things up. Bouncing into the room. Running his abundant mouth. The scenes almost seem like they don't fit into the big picture being so abstract from the rest of the film. Then, as quickly as he came, exit ST and return to the emotional upheaval. This went on until the very end of the movie.

Now, it may sound like I didn't like the film. That's not true. It was disturbing but it was supposed to be. The acting, the camera work and lighting were exceptional (watch for the camera movement during Joey's second encounter with with his old girlfriend). I'm impressed that it took as little time as it did to shoot and came in under budget.

I thought this was a great low budget drama. All the money must have been spent on the writing and talent but that's all they needed. The actors did an amazing job of commanding your attention. I thought their performances smacked of a recklessness needed to capture the essence of such desperate characters. As in any good drama, the dialogue was gritty, sincere, and emotional. I liked how the actors used the dialogue as tools to forge an atmosphere of loneliness produced by unfulfilled dreams. The camera-work was above average but not exactly great. The editing was excellent most of the time but fell a little short in one or two places. As always, EnjoyJ

I have read the reviews of "professionals" on this and they have little, if any, good to say about it. I say it is worth a try. I liked it. It is a depressing movie if you don't look at the larger picture. This movie is really about hope and redemption; just like the characters, you have to go through hell to get there though.

Lessons: 1) Don't believe everything people tell you. 2) Clean it up before someone falls in it. 3) If you wipe off your face you might find she's right under your nose.

Cast: The acting ranged from good to great. Sorvino did his best work in years and Chinlund has never been better. Mazar and Dickens were both amazingly striking in their performances. Edson did a notch above his usually fine work and even Tyler delivers a solid performance.

This is one of the finest ensemble casts put together in the independent world. Ever. Sorvino is superb. They all are. A very solid work. Steven Tyler rips through his scenes beautifully. Like father, like daughter! Dennis Brooks has crafted a world, not unlike Cheers, where the characters all have well-worn spots in their favorite bar stools. But this is NOT Cheers, believe me. Here, everything is on edge, and as things unravel, the pain of the past gushes out into bursts of surreal nastiness.

Great writing. Strong directing. Lovely music. What else is there to say? Even the "stagy" feel mentioned in the other review works, as it feeds the claustrophobic nature of the world they are living in, and losing.