Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five

Funny and touching. I really enjoyed this film. It has a good balance of humor and sentiment. Cryer, as always, is a pleasure to watch on screen. I look forward to seeing more of his work and would recommend this film to anyone.

If you are looking for a happy of fun film, then by all means do not watch "Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God...Be Back by Five". While it has a few funny moments, the film also has a dark tone and much about it might leave you feeling a bit depressed. Unlike most films, however, it isn't afraid to tackle depressing subjects and simply accept that there might be nothing you can do to change things...and that is also one of the film's strengths.

The story begins with a prologue...showing what life was like for three kids growing up in New York City as well as how they met and how they drifted apart. Now, a decade has passed and Stan (Rick Stear) seeks out his friend Daniel (Jon Cryer) because their old pal, Richie (Rafael Báez) disappeared some time ago and Stan heard a rumor that Richie might be hanging out around Coney Island. So the pair of very unlike friends go to Coney on a most unlikey day...it's cold, it's overcast and it's practically empty. And, they spend the day meeting odd characters and following leads that might take them to Richie...who is now apparently homeless and mentally ill.

I appreciated the film mostly towards the end. Up until then, I was somewhat indifferent about it. But Richie's plight and mental health issues were handled so realistically that I had a lot of respect for the picture...especially in light of my own background as a social worker and psychotherapist. The writers got this part right....and didn't offer any trite ending where everything is magically resolved...like too many Hollywood films. In addition, the film featured some lovely performances and is well worth your time if you don't need explosions and action but value studies of people.

And I don't care how small the budget was. I have fast forwarded less in pornographic movies. Garbage plot, garbage dialog, severely mediocre acting. I can't begin to describe how stupid the dialog was. And oooh the shocking plot twist! It was quite a technique, the way the severely overplayed, horrible dialog would foreshadow the climax, if you could watch it that long.

If I didn't live right in the neighborhood it was shot in, I would have turned it off half way through.

And I watched the movie with an optimistic attitude.

WENT TO CONEY ISLAND...is the story of two adult best friends (Cryer and newcomer Rick Stear) who go looking for a high school buddy who is long missing and believed to be homeless. Their search brings them to Coney Island in March--a bleak, overcast landscape symbolizing their bygone youth and abandoned dreams.

The cinematography is stunning--the cloudy and captivating blues and grays of late winter. The atmospheric mise-en-scene plays a primary role in the film. The paint peeling, abandoned amusements, the deserted rides--all carry the hollow loneliness of a ghost town. Coney Island is frightening and glorious in all it's kitschy Americana run-down splendor!

The search for the lost pal takes the friends to the freak show, skeeball parlor, bumper cars, and under the boardwalk. When at last they find him, they are forced to grapple with taking action to help him treat his mental illness, and to help themselves out of the ruts (dead end jobs, alcoholism) that they have sunk to. The dialogue is rhythmic, humorous, and authentic.

Baez plays the homeless friend, Richie, with sensitivity. Rick Stear as Stan, the alcoholic, makes a passionate film debut. Pop-culture icon Jon ("Duckie") Cryer takes a serious turn as Daniel.

The flashback to the boys' "glory days" in a high school garage band--covering Adam and the Ants "AntMusic" (!)--is worth the price of admission!

It's refreshing to see a film that is well-written, socially conscious, and emotionally relevant. It is a far cry from the tired Hollywood "formula." I encourage all film-lovers to see it.

A movie with totally entertaining dialogue... conversations that leave you wondering if people really do talk to each other that way. Coney Island is a rarity in that it offers a peephole into the world of male friendships as well as a great reprieve from the sinking ships and apocalyptic explosions that litter the screens these days.