Nothing to Lose

This film is another boring, so-called coming-of-age story.

If I have seen these characters once, I have see them 100 times.

This film and those like it have little relevance or appeal to anyone who recognizes ethnic stereotypes and unoriginal writing.

Sybil Temchen is the only bright spot. Sadly, she'll probably end up in the same club as Adrienne Shelly (good actress performs well in indies, goes on to perform well in a few bad mainstream films and then disappears into films no one who is asleep at 3 a.m. ever sees).

Maybe Temchen will get lucky with a good cable-TV series (that's what rescued Edie Falco from Shelly's fate).

Cross your fingers (and your toes) for her.

this film draws a total blank in my mind. i don't know whether to call it good or bad...it just seems to be there. the characters seem to run together, and unless you pay special attention, you'll mix them up very easily. there's not enough nuance to bring any of the characters out into the spotlight.

and although the new jersey cliche is muted much more than the stereotypical presentation in "Jersey Girl", it is still evidently what we would portray new jersey's finest as. do people really act like that in jersey? hopefully not. maybe they do, and if so, i ain't going there.

adrien brody's performance wasn't the best, despite his ability to be a great actor. i kept on watching the movie, although it didn't really interest me too much. it's one of those mystical "C" caliber movies that you just sit through as some rite of passage into independent film land.

This very underrated film was my first experience with the astoundingly talented Adrien Brody, and though the story is dark and unsettling, his performance makes up for a myriad of faults. The character of Ray is hard to like, but Brody makes him so human and recognizable he pulls you in and gets you rooting for him anyway. What is amazing is that he was all of 22 when he made this film. Do we have a new James Dean?

This kitchen sink drama directed and co-written by Eric Bross of RESTAURANT fame follows a group of boyhood pals from suburban New Jersey -- chiefly charismatic Adrien Brody as Ray, a young shoe salesman (the original title, TEN BENNY, is shoe store slang for size 10B, supposedly the size one time customer Paul Newman wears) whose overestimation of his own sharpness leads to gambling debts, p***ed-off loan sharks, and overall misery. The film is as realistic as it is glum and predictable. I felt like I was watching a documentary about younger contemporary versions of my gambler/bookie dad and his goombah pals. I knew the film was striking a chord when, despite Brody's cocky charm and good looks therein, I spent much of the film smirking, shaking my head, and muttering, `Dumbass!' every time Ray made another bad judgment call or generally acted like a jerk. Still, despite its better moments, this story is nothing that folks like Martin Scorsese haven't done earlier and more powerfully. NOTHING TO LOSE (not to be confused with the 1997 Tim Robbins/Martin Lawrence flick) is worth a look primarily if you're a Brody fan and/or an aficionado of Italian-American angst, and you happen to stumble across this one on cable. (I find it interesting, though, that writer/director Bross went on to direct ON THE LINE with those two N'Sync guys.)

This film features a very young Adrien Brody. Though it isn't the most 'polished' film in the world and obviously had a fairly small-budget, that doesn't detract from the plot. Adrien plays a very convincing part as 'Ray', and the other actors are also totally convincing. I picked this DVD up just thinking it would pass on two hours of my life, but I was immediately drawn in to the action. It's not the most fast-paced film in the world, but anyone who likes human stories will enjoy this film. The conflict between Ray and his father reminded me of so many father-son relationships, and it was great to see that portrayed so clearly. I'm sure everyone will relate to part of the story - even if it's just in Ray's hopes and dreams of bettering himself.This film is well worth watching if you get the opportunity.