Everyday People (2003)

(Drama) This intimate ensemble drama tells the interconnected stories of a group of racially diverse New Yorkers who rub elbows in Raskin's a venerable Brooklyn diner and NYC institution whose Jewish owner has just revealed he plans to sell off the place to make way for condominiums and newer more "gentrified" establishments. Told over the course of a single workday the film challenges conventional assumptions about class and racial identity. If you think you know everyday people by what they look like ... you better think again.Running Time: 91 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 026359114823 Product Description

Don't forget the actors and the story

Terry Goldman "Bluesjew4847" (Kents Store, VA USA (see below) very ably reviews this movie. I fully commend the 4 star rating. It's a wonderful production - far exceeding the results of any "workshop" process I've ever attended. The DVD Commentary is also very worthwhile.

However, I feel reviewers so far have concentrated on nostalgia for Brooklyn and the setting of the movie without giving due credit to first rate character portrayal - both by way of the story itself and especially the acting. It's difficult to take one's your eyes off the Jewish restaurant owner whose facial expression and movement are so true to his ethnicity and his role in the story.

Maybe, and only maybe, the language was a bit over the top but it's mainly confined to one character. However, the story also makes the point that such uncontrolled expression of anger can be fatally detrimental to the individual concerned. This is reflected in his past failures and his equally dismal future - if any attention is paid to the totally bored reaction of others at his group therapy session.

Having endured movie travesties that suck up public funding in Australia (refer to but avoid seeing "Peaches" for example) and, having studiously avoided gratuitous coarse language from Hollywood, I'd at least give this movie credit for "Bluesjew4847" (Kents Store, VA USA (see below) very ably reviews this movie. I fully commend the 4 star rating. It's a wonderful production - far exceeding the results of "workshop" processes I've ever attended.

However, I feel reviewers so far have concentrated on nostalgia for the Brooklyn setting of the movie without giving due credit to first rate character portrayal - both by way of the story itself and especially the acting. It's difficult to take your eyes off
The Jewish restaurant owner whose facial expression and movement are so true to his ethnicity and his role in the story.

Maybe, and only maybe, the language was a bit over the top but mainly confined to one character. The story also makes the point that such uncontrolled expression of anger can be fatally detrimental to the individual concerned. They are reflected in his past failures and his equally dismal future if any attention is paid to the totally bored reaction of the others at his group therapy session.

Having endured movie travesties that suck up public funding in Australia (see - or don't see- "Peaches") and, having studiously avoided the gratuitous coarse language of Hollywood, I'd at least give this movie credit for eschewing fashionable nihilism and tedious drug use.

As for criticising the depiction of nudity, it was so minor and integral to the story; I had difficulty recalling where it took place.
avoiding nihilism and tedious drug use.
As for criticizing the depiction of nudity, it was so minor and integral to the story; I had difficulty recalling where it took place.
November 11, 2007

Everyday People ? Humm

I watched this movie last night 07-30-07 and found it to be very New York, the rating for it is way off and without a hint on the case I had no idea that the language would be so profane even when it was clearly not needed to get the actors point across. There is a scene where there is nudity again not mention in anyone reviews or on the case. Having said all that I did like the story which is really about life "any persons" life in any city where the tradition tried to fit in with the new and changing landscape of life. Would have gone 5 stars but the language and the stint of nudity dropped it by 1 star. July 31, 2007

Grows on You with Repeated Viewings

I found this movie to be a bit off putting when I first saw it. So what is this movie about? I asked myself. The answer is a bit simpler than I usually expect and a bit more complex too. It is about a diner located in Brooklyn which is undergoing gentrification. The owners of the diner are expected to sell out to some corporate giants such as Banana Republic and Hard Rock Cafe. The area is run down and has been going down for a long time. The working class people who frequent the restaurant and work there are just on the cusp of poverty. Their lives aren't the greatest, but there is no promise that the area will allow them to better their lives. The diner is a symbol of some stability and safety. The script was written after several practices in repretory theatre. The acting is terrific and very enjoyable to watch. I found that the movie grew on me with repeated viewings. There is always another layer to uncover. A very nice movie and well worth a viewer's time. January 27, 2007

People, people who need people, are the .......

A low budget ensemble film that deserves a wider audience. A character study of a Brooklyn Jewish owned restaurant (a neighborhood insitution for decades) that seems destined to be sold in the name of progress to shrewd developers whose plan to upscale a working class, on the decline neighborhood.

Employees and customers (many, regulars) must come to grips with personal family and societal issues that are all too real.

The acting is first rate, the script a winner with realistic dialogue.Caveat. The film has a "cheaper hand held camera feel" and a somewhat uneven music score but this is a solid piece of cinema that gives us the real tempo and beat of a Brooklyn the way life often is....full of hopes, dreams, racial and ethnic
diatribes, working class versus upscale mentality, the haves and the have nots and so much more. April 9, 2005

great movie!

i liked this movie a lot... very interesting, realistic relationships between all the characters. i also loved that it gave me a little piece of brooklyn. :)
i won't give too much away... but i'm waiting for a sequel or television series. i would love to know the choices that these characters have made! :) February 13, 2005

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