Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)

And the fine soundtrack

In addition to the fine acting (Shelley Winters and Mike Kellin) and script, don't overlook the Brubeck soundtrack (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074963/soundtrack -- not available on CD) that sets the mood, time, and place perfectly.

A gem of a film. July 8, 2008

Nice piece of 50's Village nostalgia

This is a sweet memoire of a precious time in the life of Paul Mazursky. The man has a lot of heart and it shows here in this film which could have been really bad in the hands of a lesser writer/director. The characters are familiar to us: the aspiring actor from Brooklyn, trying desperately to get away from his overbearing Jewish mamma, the henpecked dad, the younger set of arty types of mixed races and sexual preferences. What keeps the film fresh is the very real affection Mazursky feel for the folks; otherwise they could have fallen into terrible cliches.

The cast is uniformly good and perfectly chosen for their roles. Shelly Winters as the Mom gives one of her best performances, in my opinion. She is an actress whose shrill over-the-top style often turns me off and she still lets the stops go here but there is a warmth and genuine joie de vivre that I found endearing. The actor who plays the dad has few lines to say, as he did in life, but his face tells a lot. I found his presence quite moving and again he avoided the stereotype and brought a genuine human feeling to it. Ellen Greene is very good as the pretty Jewish girl who is the love interest. We never know quite how she feels about the actor; she plays it just right, somewhere between sweet and cagey.

Lenny Baker is Larry Lipinsky, the Mazursky alter ego. I suppose that since Mazursky chose him, he was right for the role. Personally I found him a little annoying, especially when he went into his grandiose acting spiels, but that's no doubt how 22 year old aspiring actors in the 50's were.

Christopher Walken, who is billed as "Chris Walken" is eye catching in a small role, as Robert, one of the buddies. He is portrayed as a cold hearted bastard, as opposed to Lenny who truly loves the girl, but frankly I thought the girl made the right choice by running off with him to Mexico. Lenny's version of love is just as egotistical in its own way as Robert's and his sense of moral superiority is a bit unfounded-- especially when he hit the girl. Jeff Goldblum gives a noteworthy cameo, too. No wonder Walken and Goldblum went on to greater roles.

It's a period piece and people who love New York, especially the New York of the 50's will find a lot to like in this film. March 20, 2008

For Adults Who Want To See 1950s Without June Cleaver

I recall seeing this at the Circle Theater in Washington, DC two or three years after its original release. The Circle was a repertory cinema four blocks from the White House. In 1986 the owners closed it, and the building was razed.

I recommend this film based on my 27 - year - old memories of it. A lot of realism. Diners and small apartments are reconstructed in detail so you time travel to the 1950s. Many scenes take place in cold weather; I could feel it. Christopher Walken's performance stands out.

It's not for children anywhere or for adults in the Bible Belt. Other reviewers haven't mentioned three points in the film that may puzzle a child or offend an adult in the Bible Belt or an adult who thinks Leave It To Beaver and What's My Line reflect 1950s America.

# 1 -- A member of the gang of Greenwich Villagers named Anita is introduced when the gang announces gleefully that she's committing suicide and they must witness it. They practically skip down the street on the way to her apartment. Turns out she was just threatening to do it.

Anita later joins the gang in a diner and goes with the flow. She stops talking about her personal problems and keeps up with the rapid conversations. Topics include the prosecution and death sentences for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. I couldn't figure out if Anita was supposed to be Jewish or Catholic. Her mannerisms and last name can suggest either group.

# 2 -- In several scenes, the main character and his girlfriend refer to the form of birth control known as a diaphragm. If you want your kids to think that device first became available on the solstice that launched the Summer of Love in 1967, then keep this DVD away from them.

# 3 -- When the main character, an aspiring actor, must rehearse a scene outside the theater, he lets his mother (Shelley Winters) read the lines of his character's leading lady. In fact, mother and son rehearse a love scene, and they kiss passionately. I couldn't figure out if filmmaker Paul Mazursky was implying that their relationship had an incestuous undercurrent.

All in all, Mr. Mazursky convinces me that in the 1950s, Greenwich Village and the rest of the United States were different planets.

I would love to see a 1950s San Francisco other than the one seen in Vertigo. Were I to see it I might put S.F. on the same planet as Greenwich Village. I suspect that the Madison, Wisconsin of the 1950s might belong on this "Alternative To Leave It To Beaver Planet," but such a film seems unlikely to get made now that five decades have passed. (People from those cities who could help the set designers have died.) Thanks, Mr. Mazursky, for capturing what you captured when it was just 20 years old. July 30, 2006

Get Off At Christopher Street & Experience This Film...

This is a bittersweet film about family, leaving "the nest", friendships, dreams, hope, & finding yourself. A young man from Brooklyn leaves home to become an actor in 1950's Greenwich Village. The late Lenny Baker is very good as Larry Lapinsky & Ellen Green is wonderful as his girlfriend. The quirky characters & situations around them add an ambiance to this movie that makes you believe it was filmed in the 1950's, & not the 70's, when it was actually made. A lot of attention was paid to detail & it shows. Shelly Winters is loud, obnoxious, funny & convincing as the typical Jewish mother (I love the scene when she shows up at his apartment with a chicken). This movie makes you wish you could jump into the film & sit with these characters, have coffee with them, ride the subway, go to one of Larry's rent parties, & experience the progressive, offbeat world of New York's Greenwich Village in the 1950's. April 1, 2006

very good movie about 50s bohemian life

Amazon must tell its reviewers that they can't give a review that's entirely positive or negative. That must account for the Amazon reviewer's disparaging review of Shelley Winters in this movie. SW does a really good job of portraying a Jewish mother in _Next Stop_ (who, after listening to the director's comments on the dvd we realize is the alter ego of Paul Mazursky's own mother). Mazursky's comments are very interesting when you realize that he was using artists as his inspiration in how he did the camera work in the movie. I don't want to give away too much and ruin the director's comments. _Next Stop_ might not have made a big impression on the 1975 movie going public because it doesn't portray the 50s in nostalgic, glowing terms, but rather shows them warts and all. My favorite scene is where Shelley Winters is jitterbugging to Glenn Miller.
(By the way, in response to the other reviewer: I really like Vertigo and What's My Line?") March 21, 2006

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