Growing Down in Brooklyn

While somewhat amateurish and predictable (especially the abrupt ending), this obscure indie shines as a little slice of 1970's Brooklyn. The plot involves four teenage friends who run afoul of some local mobsters, but the main thing is the atmosphere. Filmed on the streets of Midwood and actually inside some of those old houses, "Growing Down In Brooklyn" is grittier and more realistic than some of the films about Italian-American youth from Brooklyn that were actually made in the 1970's. Few could live up to the Tony Manero stereotype perpetuated to the world courtesy of "Saturday Night Fever", for example, but here in Brooklyn, everybody knew some neighborhood kids just like these. Even some local characters and longtime residents have cameos in the film, adding to the "time machine" feel. If you were growing up in Midwood during the 1970's, it would all be instantly recognizable. Just for that, the film is worth watching.