Oltre il ponte di Brooklyn

My review was written in January 1984 after viewing at a Midtown Manhattan screening room.

"Over the Brooklyn Bridge" is producer-director (and Cannon Group chairman) Menahem Golan's love letter to New York City: a warm and pleasant romance similar to the type of films topliner Elliott Gould (and George Segal, as well) used to make 10 or 15 years earlier. Boasting an outstanding (and promotable) supporting performance by Sid Caesar as Gould's bossy uncle, the picture (geared to the audience that attended "My Favorite Year") should do okay business when released later this year through MGM-UA, following its current debut in Tel Aviv.

Screenplay by the late Arnold Somkin (who died in 1982 before production began, and to whom "Bridge" is dedicated) is short on laughs but very effective in portraying a loving, romantic view of New York and its melting pot of ethnic groups. As directed by Golan, and cheerfully lit by cameraman Adam Greenberg, the Big Apple is a paradise where even 42nd Street and the subways are sources of glamor rather than the cliched eyesores they represent in most recent N. Y.-lensed films.

Gould stars as Alby Sherman, owner of a Brooklyn eatery who dreams of buying a posh restaurant on the East Side in midtown Manhattan. His love affair with an aristocratic Catholic girl from Philadelphia (Margaux Hemingway) raises the ire of his Jewish family, particularly the patriarch Uncle Benjamin (Sid Caesar), a women's underwear manufacturer who would rather have Alby marry his fourth cousin Cheryl (Carol Kane).

The basic conflict, as Alby must choose between his dream girl and career advancement (Uncle Benjamin offers a key loan with strings attached0 is not developed beyond the plot gimmick stage, but "Bridge" works well as an actors' vehicle. Leads Gould and Hemingway are solid in the central roles, with standout support from a large cast. Given perhaps the best opportunity in an off-and-on film career to date (including his starring assignments for William Castle in the 1960s), Caesar is very funny as a man who tries to run everyone else's lives for them. He is extremely moving at the film's moment of catharsis, enduring Gould's ultimate rebellion in a strong last reel scene set at an engagement party.

Kane is delightfully droll as the virginal intellectual whose demure exterior hides a rather kinky fatnasy-sex life. There are also nice spots for an Italian pal played by the ubiquitous Burt Young and a variety of other ethnic types.

Release title is a bit weak, with the dialog plugging most of the discarded monikers for this project: "Alby's Special", "Alby's Delight" and "My Darling Shiksa". The marketing challenge is to find an audience for a nice little film which avoids contemporary hooks in favor of romantic-comedy formulas that worked well in the late 1960s.

"Over the Brooklyn Bridge" is an okay movie...at best. Much of it is because the story is about a guy who is really difficult to like or care about his plight. Had they made Elliott Gould's character at least likable, it could have been a much better film. As it was, I found my interest in the film waning the more I watched.

Alby (Gould) runs a grubby little restaurant in Brooklyn and wants his uncle (Sid Caesar) to help him buy an upscale eatery in Manhattan. However, the uncle is hesitant to give him money because Alby is dating a shiksa (non-Jewish woman). Much of Uncle Benjamin's concerns seem valid...mostly because Alby NEVER has introduced the woman (Margeaux Hemingway) to the family and he seems ashamed of her. However, if Alby drops this two year relationship, the uncle will give him the money. What is Alby to do?

Alby NOT introducing the girlfriend is pretty shameful. But he also just seems like a putz throughout the story....someone who wants to make good but who the audience STILL doesn't care about in any meaningful way.

The direction and editing are choppy and could be much better in addition to the script problems. After all, director Menahem Golan (and his business partner, Yorum Globus) were known as hacks who promoted schlock films during the 1980s. Don't believe this? Try watching their first film "The Apple" or any of their later explosion-riddled action movies!

By the way, the print they showed of this film on Turner Classic Movies is VERY dark and in need of restoration. However, considering it's not exactly a beloved masterpiece, I doubt if this will ever happen.

This movie was a disaster of sorts in that it failed miserably at the box office perhaps due to its very strong Jewish content. Nevertheless for the Jewish audience it is a fantastic comedy where we laugh at ourselves. There are some flies in the ointment. As always the Jewish boy in question can not have a Jewish girl-friend. Hollywood does not accept the fact that Jews marry Jews and Alby ( a rather fat Elliot Gould!!) is no exception, but his shiksa is worth her weight in gold. A Jewish mother would kill to have a daughter-in-law as caring as Elizabeth is to her diabetic shlemiel of a son. Margaux Hemingway (may she rest in peace) is wonderful in this role. We lost a terrific actress here. The Family is a pastiche of all the stereotypes we Jews love and hate so well: the rich uncle who is a tough businessman with a heart of gold and his bitch of a wife and useless son. The usual hangers-on and assorted nebbishes who work for him are there - God this fits my family to a "T" !!! The scene at the synagogue is wonderful and the Lubliner Rebbe is well interpreted by the great Zvi Scooler. The celebration at the Rumanian restaurant is word for word exact of whatever we had in the 1950's. Shelly Winters is a great actress her role is a treat to watch. Her outburst at the restaurant is the hit of the show. When we heard the audience gasp (99% Jewish) I felt that the movie was an effective comedy - but I also knew that a 99% gentile audience would not see the humour and sadly I was right.

This is a marginal film and must be accepted as such but that is too bad because there is enough in there to amuse everybody. Elliot Gould and his friend Nick played by my favorite cro-magnon Burt Young are a pair of shleppers that you have to love - that piss scene is wild. The scene in Uncle Benjamin's house with the plastic on the chairs must be preserved in a Jewish museum - that is exactly how we were!!! Sid Caesar is Uncle Benjamin and is a delight. His acting ranges from shtick meshuga to Shakespearean pathos. Anyway grab a copy at the local Blockbusters or whatever and invite the family and...enjoy!! To hell with the bad reviews - what do "they" know ?????

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.

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.