An Amazon original, written and directed by Woody Allen, set on Coney Island in the 1950s. When you’re talking Woody Allen, you’re talking cartoon characters acted with maximum ham. This was no exception, which was a shame with such a stellar cast. Jim Belushi played Humpty (Humpty – seriously? What kind of nickname is that??), who worked on a boardwalk ride. Kate Winslet played Humpty’s second wife Ginny, a former actress who now worked as a waitress. Juno Temple was Carolina, Humpty’s daughter and currently on the run from her abusive, mobster husband. Justin Timberlake played Mickey, a Coney Island lifeguard. More about that foolishness later. Finally, Jack Gore played Richie, Ginny’s son and pathological firebug whom was constantly getting in trouble for starting fires.
The movie kicked off with Justin Timberlake as the narrator. Which, of course, is always a bad sign. Basically, the movie was about Ginny returning to her father’s apartment – right on Coney Island above all the rides, noise, etc – after a falling out with her mobster husband Frank (who by the way was never shown). Unhappy in her marriage with Humpty (a recovering alcoholic), Ginny started to have an affair with Mickey, and then fell in love with him, but the emotion was not reciprocated. To make matters even worse for Ginny, Mickey met Carolina and wanted to go out with her. And Richie had to go to a psychiatrist because of his obsession with fires. Frank’s mobster goons, played by Steve “Bobby Bacala” Schirripa and Tony “Paulie Walnuts” Sirico, made an appearance, looking for Carolina. They eventually found out where she worked and moved in to snatch her. Of course, all this drama heating up required the ham quotient to dial up as well, and it sure did – right to 11. Some of Jim Belushi’s histrionics were hilarious.
On a positive note, there was interesting cinematography, with stunning multicolored closeup scenes.
On yet another negative, the old-timey music was annoying, and reminiscent of a barbershop quartet featuring Leon Redbone.
A little more about the cartoonish characters in this movie. When a character uses the phrase “the human condition” not once but twice, it’s a sure sign of a fake character. Has any real person ever used that term in conversation? I think not. Another point about how fake Justin Timberlake’s character was – he was supposed to be a navy vet, and then a writer, but his only source of income was as a lifeguard at Coney Island – a four month out of the year job that is usually done by college kids. And he had an apartment in Greenwich village?? Ree-dick-you-lis! Similarly, Humpty worked on the boardwalk on a ride – another four month job, and Ginny worked on a boardwalk restaurant. How on earth could two adults working such jobs afford to live anywhere in New York City? Come on, Woody!
5 Coney Island whitefish out of 12