Yonkers Joe

This is a great film with some really exceptional performances. I caught the film at TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL in April and like many audience members was intrigued to find out that actor Tom Guiry didn't have Down Syndrome. He was very believable in the role of Joe Jr and Chazz Palminteri and Christine Lahti were also amazing. The gambling scenes were different than anything I have seen before and were very suspenseful. The film also was full of emotion which left some audience members in tears at the end. In the Q and A with Director Bob Celestino, audience members were very enthusiastic about what they had seen and asked many questions that the director answered graciously. Someone asked if this story was based on someone as the director just looked at them and smiled which was kind of a mysterious way to end the Q and A. A great film. Go see it.

This film is not for everyone.Maybe not for most.However if you like films that can be hard to watch and seem painfully true to the world you don't want to see but know is out there,than you MUST see this film.The underside of life meets crisis of family in a way not seen since "rainman"a film I thought was overcast and thus dulled the story by being over exposed to "star"power.Yonkers Joe only loses 1 star because the story is so hard.Released in 2008 and running only 101 minutes the secret is the casting.Inspired therefore of Chazz Palminteri and Christine Lahti as two losers who cling to the hope of a last score to continue their pathetic lives.Chaz plays Joe and he has a son who is institutionalized and has never really been there for him since his wife left them both.Joe Jr. is played well enough by Tom Guiry but he's really a burden that Joe can't shake and is now forced to confront when the institution is going to expel him as being unmanageable.It's never explained what the soon to be 21 year old's issues are other than he's mentally and socially challenged. Christine plays Janice who has very low self esteem but is a anchor for Joe. Focusing on a score against casino crap games in Vegas clash with the rediscovery of the father/son relationship between the 2 Joe's that is steadied by Janice in a fine performance by Mz Lahti who deserves recognition here.Chaz is Chaz and thats what's called for to make this a more gutty film than "Rainman"was to me.No one is better playing a low life hustler than Chaz and as a cunning low level "mechanic"he scores here.They way the film ends is so believable and yet it's not a happy "hollywood"ending,tho not a disaster ether considering the life everyone has led.If you liked"Leaving las Vegas"the ending is far more upbeat but the film is almost as depressing till then.

I saw this film last night @ the Starz Denver Film Festival. My husband and I decided to see it @ the last minute after hearing rave reviews from a festival volunteer who had been to a screening earlier in the day. We were intrigued, having lived in Yonkers for 3 years and it is always a treat to see a film and meet the director afterwords @ the Q and A. We were not disappointed. The above comments do a good job of describing the film. Indeed, the viewer is drawn into the lives of these characters and it is refreshing to see a true Indie film as opposed to a big budget, Hollywood extravaganza. The acting is great-you will recognize many of the actors from more high profile films/TV. The lead, Guiry, was most recently a star of the ill-fated TV series "The Black Donneleys. The film has scenes in four cities: Yonkers, Atlantic City, Miami and Las Vegas. It is especially interesting to see Vegas from the point of view of a "regular" gambler as opposed to the highly glamorized view the film-goer gets from an "Oceans Eleven," for example. Christine Lahti is amazing in this film. Support independent film-making in the U.S. and go see it when it comes out!

Nice indie film with great ingredients: gambling, sleight of hand, craps rather than cards, no poker sponsors (Hurrah!) and in the mix a good family drama about a father discovering his mentally handicapped son and building that relationship.

It works in the main: a very solid cast and a good script give this some oomph, however it is a little light on real drama. Perhaps it suffers from the seen it before syndrome that afflicts most con films, even with the twists of dice and a handicapped kid, that aside as a study of a gambler rediscovering life it works well.

It is enjoyable and the performances are solid.

Definitely worth viewing - just lacks something that something extra that would make it truly memorable.

YONKERS JOE is a great addition to the tradition of independent New York centered films. Twelve years in the making, its story of a mid-level professional gambler and his adult son with Down's Syndrome was compelling and skillfully played. Chaz Palminteri keeps your attention throughout the story, and Tom Guiry (The Black Donnellys)deserves recognition for a convincing performance of a young man coping with Down's.

The story covers familiar ground with lots of nice twists and details. Technically very clever on the skills required to take on a modern casino security system. Believable from beginning to end.

Support this film when it comes out for release. Wonderful performances by Palminteri, Christine Lahti as his patient and clever love interest and a solid character cast including Michael Lerner,Roma Maffia, Arthur Nascarella and many familiar TV series faces. Any father/son should see this movie. You will laugh and learn, and be wiser at the end.

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