Next Stop, Greenwich Village

This is a bittersweet film about family, leaving "the nest", friendships, dreams, hope, & finding yourself. A young man from Brooklyn leaves home to become an actor in 1950's Greenwich Village. Lenny Baker is very good as Larry Lapinsky & Ellen Green is wonderful as his girlfriend. The quirky characters & situations around them add an ambiance to this movie that makes you believe it was filmed in the 1950's, & not the 70's, when it was actually made. A lot of attention was paid to detail & it shows. Shelly Winters is loud, obnoxious, funny & convincing as the typical Jewish mother (I love the scene when she shows up at his apartment with a chicken). This movie makes you wish you could jump into the film & sit with these characters, have coffee with them, ride the subway, go to one of Larry's rent parties & experience the progressive, offbeat world of New York's Greenwich Village in the 1950's.

I'm with the room, this film has been sadly overlooked as it was at the time of it's release (even Mazursky champion Pauline Kael was Luke warm) and deserves to be seen.

I think this sort of autobiographical film had sort of been overdone, so Mazurky's film was lumped in as "one of those." What was missed, I think, was his unsentimental, adult perspective on the time and place, on what it meant to be young and bright. He gives us something of what the beak nick world might have been like, unlike the silly portrayals done AT THE TIME.

Lenny Baker, in his only major lead, is excellent along with the entire cast. Christopher Walken makes an impression without the hamming that would later endear him to so many.

The endearing qualities of the characters seem very true to the time to me. I grew up in the 50's, and the scenes of his neighborhood were a wonderful backdrop for the times. The family, the friends, and the events that happen are believable and at times most amusing. Shelly Winters is always outstanding and she delivers in her role as the lead character's Mother. The character of Sarah is very beautiful, although by today's standards both of the young characters would not be cast. Not because they lack character, but because they seem like real people, not Hollywood clones.It was a different world as far as social mores and this glimpse into the heart of a young actor dealing with life through humor and love was most enjoyable.

I always try to see movies that aren't very well known. I do like to watch blockbusters as well, but I think that not every movie that didn't get too much attention isn't worth anything. Sometimes I discover some nice little gems. Sometimes, but not this time although it certainly isn't as bad as you might fear now...

This movie starts with a young man who is about to leave his parents home so he can live on his own and become an actor. Of course this goes hand in hand with a lot of drama, as mom doesn't want to see her 'little boy' leave the house so soon. But his mind has been made up and Larry Lapinsky moves from Brooklyn to Greenwich Village. Here he meets new people and soon he has a lot of friends, all with their own problems and worries...

This movie has some excellent moments to offer (for instance when mom shows up with a chicken, because she fears that her son doesn't get enough to eat), but sometimes it could have been a bit more subtle in my opinion. It was a bit too stereotypical to be a really great movie, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth a watch of course. I give it a 6.5/10.

I felt like this is what life must truly have been like in the Village in '53. Everything was in order. I was transported. Special kudos go out to Antonio Fargas, who plays a gay man in a tremendously ballsy portrayal considering his Starsky and Hutch days. Also, to the great chemistry of the cast.

It was sad to see Lenny Baker passed away at such a young age. He was definitely in the Hoffman, Pacino, but funnier mold. He should be remembered.