Over the Brooklyn Bridge

In the opening scene, as the title "Over the Brooklyn Bridge" splashes across the screen, the main characters are shown (in a dramatic shot) driving across the... Manhattan Bridge... I witnessed this egregious error in a Brooklyn theater, back in the day. I swear, if the director or producer had been present, they would have been ripped apart (literally). Anyway, It all goes down hill from there... the cast although usually talented fail to deliver in this one, they simply sleepwalk through a cookie-cutter Hollywood plot, doing the minimum to earn their keep. This film is a tedious bore, full of cliché lines and cheap devices. it is best sent to the "lost forever" bin.

I think this it was setup as a cheap movie from the beginning. No wonder WB are now on the edge. I just saw it now on Cinemax, and it was just an waste of time. 3by4 layout (cheap), bad quality image (cheap), script that on every minute makes you wonder: why we are doing this??, actors that are playing like they are in from of the execution squad. Many movies from the begginig of the 80s are like this, top crap. Total waste of time to watch this.

Alby Sherman (Elliott Gould) owns a small Brooklyn deli. He's desperate to buy an upscale Manhattan restaurant, but he needs an investment from Uncle Benjamin (Sid Caesar). In exchange for $60k, Benjamin wants him to dump his Irish girlfriend Elizabeth Anderson (Margaux Hemingway) of two years and marry a nice Jewish girl.

Director Menahem Golan is most well known for co-owning The Cannon Group. This is not his usual B-action movies, but he does do plenty of other stuff. I'm guessing that he has an affinity for Uncle Benjamin as a character. I do question Elizabeth who has never met his mother or been to his deli. That's not a good look for her. She's also too quick to do the dumping. Margaux does not project such weak will. The love story needs some work. As for Alby, his bad business sense is more frustrating than funny. Otherwise, Elliott Gould is really good. Carol Kane has some fun. The big dinner scene is really interesting although I would do it slightly different. There is no denying Sid Caesar's greatness. This is a fine slice of New York kosher pizza.

Extremely stereotypical, but I'm using movie with Elliot Gould and Marguax Hemmingway... said Caesar is also on board and he is top-notch along with the rest of the cast editing is choppy and corny... and Hemingway's performance truly haunts me as she should've had a much better career than she did... she is absolutely luminous and does some really terrific emotional work... Elliot Gould is very dependable and lovable in his role... and the chemistry between him and Hemmingway is palpable. A pretty good popcorn movie that could've and should've been better but for what it is... it does very well in it's messaging... and performances, especially with Elliot and Hemingway are top-notch.

Ok, this is not a classic, but it has enough nice touches to make it enjoyable. Sometimes good actors make a so-so film less enjoyable because you end up grieving over the waste of talent. Not so here. If you like Carol Kane, Elliott Gould, Shelley Winters, Margaux Hemingway, or Sid Caesar (who gives a knockout performance), if you liked 'Enter Laughing' or 'Crossing Delancey', or even 'Used People', you'll like this. Worth a rent if you're in the right mood.