Good story, plus JLC is in the film
Added 11/23/2008
If Jamie Lee Curtis is in a movie, I want to watch it. I don't care if it's a documentary on how grass grows.
This movie had some other actors I like. Just looking at the cast (even if JLC hadn't been part of it) would be sufficient for me to want to see the movie. Joe Mantegna, for example, is a talented (and under-rated) actor who has also made many a recorded book come alive with his narrations.
Not that it's a reason to buy the movie, but as this was filmed in Queens in 1990/91, it contains several shots of the World Trade Center.
A major thread in this story is the process by which some middle-aged men finally emerge from adolescence. The story manages to be funny and engaging, while not relying on cheap schtick or silly gags. Nor does it rely on CGI, wire work, and other stuff that seems to have replaced story telling in the film-making industry. Of course, this movie is nearly 20 years old so it was made while attention spans were still measured in minutes rather than seconds.
The story relies, instead, on the complex interplay of the characters. Tests of loyalty abound. The story is full of "moments," and the characters seem very real. Well-directed, well-acted, and well-written, it reaches a level of sophistication that is above the norm yet not at all overwhelming.
I'd characterize this as a "feel good" movie, but not in the way of a Disney movie. You feel good because the characters are flawed because they're human, and yet in the end they prevail because they are human. The movie isn't preachy, and it isn't sending a moral message. It's just showing that courage, loyalty, and love exist right alongside fear, distrust, and betrayal, and can prevail over them. Especially with help from friends and strangers.
On that last note, JLC plays a stranger. Her character isn't among the inner circle and, in fact, she interacts only with Mantegna's character. She reels him in and shocks him into sensibility. In the typical hero quest novel, JLC would be similar to the mentor who imbues the hero with new courage and new dedication to renew the fight. It's not quite like that in this film, but it's along those lines. It's carried off quite well and is necessary to move the plot forward.
Sadly, JLC's time in this film is too short. But to raving JLC fans, that's true of every film where JLC appears. You don't have to be a JLC fan to enjoy this film. It would be great even without her.
This is a film couples can watch together, and probably should watch together. So, snuggle up and press the play button.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Queen's logic DVD
Added 10/3/2007
I am not a fan of Joe Mantegna, I bought the movie mostly because I like Linda Fiorentino and John Malkovich a lot...... Fiorentino disappointed me here, and Mantegna who has a thankless role is a total disappointment too.
I think Anthony LaPaglia would have better served the role played by Mantegna.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Cringe-Inducing
Added 2/28/2007
This movie is lame, lame, lame. I saw it when it came out because my friends and I were living in Astoria at the time and were aware of its having been filmed (in part) there. It was the end of the glorious time in Astoria before it'd been "discovered", and we were saving tons of money in rent! Anyway, we'd sort of hoped the movie would be ok, but after the reviews (or pre-hype, don't remember exactly now) we knew it would be just awful. And it was. It was Tony's personal love song to his old neighborhood, but with every cliche and stereotype there is. Joe Mantegna was about 20 years too old for the part. Really, don't bother, unless you're a fan of one of the actors. I mean a BIG fan.
1 out of 7 people found this helpful.
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An excellent movie,that has been mostly overlooked and underrated.
Added 4/3/2006
Queens loqic is a real sleeper of a movie.This movie covers an area of queens,and its love of the ny mets.The movie has an all star cast,and i believe you will enjoy this movie.The movie is presented in full screen on a budget lable.I highly recommend this movie.It is sure to please!!!Thank you Stewart L.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Great movie, but too underestimated!!
Added 8/3/2005
When I saw this movie for the first time I was a Malkovich's fan and I had already seen all his films, from the "Glass Menagerie" to "Of mice and men", from "Places in the heart" to "Mary Reilly" and "Being John Malkovich", but this one was quite unknown and it was always given bad reviews. I have never understood why: first of all the cast is excellent(apart from Malkovich,whose lonely character is unforgettable, I think Kevin Bacon and Joe Mantegna give two of their best performances and Linda Fiorentino doesn't play another dark lady, showing how versatile she can be, even if Chloe Webb, Ken Olin, J.Lee Curtis are outstanding, too, as usual). Moreover the script by Spiridakis is very original and it avoids every possible stereotype: it includes a group of friends from Queens(NYC)who reunite themselves for Ray(Ken Olin)'s wedding to Patty(Chloe Webb), but Ray is very doubtful and he dreams to become a painter in Italy; however his pals have their own problems, too: his loud and impulsive cousin Al(Joe Mantegna) is in trouble with his proud and neglected wife Carla(L.Fiorentino); his roommate Eliot(Malkovich) is an apathetical homosexual, who dislikes gay lifestyles, and his old buddy Dennis(Kevin Bacon), who was in love with Patty, pretends to have got successful in Hollywood, but then reveals to be just a failure. Of course the plot is based on self-revelations, the actors are more important than the director, but the film is very fluent and unusual; it doesn't look like "The Big Chill" or "Diner" that much: both of them are good movies, but I prefer "Queens logic" because it's more anticonventional and non-conformist, since it involves odd characters like Jeremy(Terry Kinney, a co-founder of the Steppenwolf Company with Gary Sinise and Malkovich), a snob homosexual who pursues Eliot; or such as Monte, played by Tom Waits, a funny alcoholic idler, or Inez(Jodie Markell), an eccentric healer, or madame Rosa, a fortune-teller whom Patty and Carla tell their problems, or Grace(Jamie Lee Curtis), a psychotic who teaches Joe Mantegna to "throw it all away", namely to leave adolescence and grow up. If you add the magic atmosphere of the nights in New York, a wonderful photography of the city, a nostalgic and dynamic soundtrack(David Bowie, Van Morrison, Souther, Johnny Nash, Marvin Gaye), the scene which includes the young Joe Mantegna climbing up the bridge which links Queens to Manhattan and the other characters who gaze at him, you can easily understand how marvelous this movie is! It is my favourite movie and I got very disappointed when I discovered that it hadn't had any kind of success. In my country(Italy)it's also out of print, so I bought a dvd from USA, well-worthy to be bought; note that the Italian title is quite poetical and maybe more helpful, it's "Sognando Manhattan"("Dreaming Manhattan"). Anyway buy this movie! If you like the actors it's a must!!
10 out of 11 people found this helpful.
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Good story, plus JLC is in the film
Added 11/23/2008
If Jamie Lee Curtis is in a movie, I want to watch it. I don't care if it's a documentary on how grass grows.
This movie had some other actors I like. Just looking at the cast (even if JLC hadn't been part of it) would be sufficient for me to want to see the movie. Joe Mantegna, for example, is a talented (and under-rated) actor who has also made many a recorded book come alive with his narrations.
Not that it's a reason to buy the movie, but as this was filmed in Queens in 1990/91, it contains several shots of the World Trade Center.
A major thread in this story is the process by which some middle-aged men finally emerge from adolescence. The story manages to be funny and engaging, while not relying on cheap schtick or silly gags. Nor does it rely on CGI, wire work, and other stuff that seems to have replaced story telling in the film-making industry. Of course, this movie is nearly 20 years old so it was made while attention spans were still measured in minutes rather than seconds.
The story relies, instead, on the complex interplay of the characters. Tests of loyalty abound. The story is full of "moments," and the characters seem very real. Well-directed, well-acted, and well-written, it reaches a level of sophistication that is above the norm yet not at all overwhelming.
I'd characterize this as a "feel good" movie, but not in the way of a Disney movie. You feel good because the characters are flawed because they're human, and yet in the end they prevail because they are human. The movie isn't preachy, and it isn't sending a moral message. It's just showing that courage, loyalty, and love exist right alongside fear, distrust, and betrayal, and can prevail over them. Especially with help from friends and strangers.
On that last note, JLC plays a stranger. Her character isn't among the inner circle and, in fact, she interacts only with Mantegna's character. She reels him in and shocks him into sensibility. In the typical hero quest novel, JLC would be similar to the mentor who imbues the hero with new courage and new dedication to renew the fight. It's not quite like that in this film, but it's along those lines. It's carried off quite well and is necessary to move the plot forward.
Sadly, JLC's time in this film is too short. But to raving JLC fans, that's true of every film where JLC appears. You don't have to be a JLC fan to enjoy this film. It would be great even without her.
This is a film couples can watch together, and probably should watch together. So, snuggle up and press the play button.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Queen's logic DVD
Added 10/3/2007
I am not a fan of Joe Mantegna, I bought the movie mostly because I like Linda Fiorentino and John Malkovich a lot...... Fiorentino disappointed me here, and Mantegna who has a thankless role is a total disappointment too.
I think Anthony LaPaglia would have better served the role played by Mantegna.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Cringe-Inducing
Added 2/28/2007
This movie is lame, lame, lame. I saw it when it came out because my friends and I were living in Astoria at the time and were aware of its having been filmed (in part) there. It was the end of the glorious time in Astoria before it'd been "discovered", and we were saving tons of money in rent! Anyway, we'd sort of hoped the movie would be ok, but after the reviews (or pre-hype, don't remember exactly now) we knew it would be just awful. And it was. It was Tony's personal love song to his old neighborhood, but with every cliche and stereotype there is. Joe Mantegna was about 20 years too old for the part. Really, don't bother, unless you're a fan of one of the actors. I mean a BIG fan.
1 out of 7 people found this helpful.
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