Television
Take a Chance on Yonkers Joe
Michael Montroy |
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 With a touch of Ocean’s Eleven and a bit of Rain Man, Robert Celestino’s Yonkers Joe monitors the fortunes of a shady gambler (Chazz Palminteri), whose life unexpectedly becomes weighed down when his mentally challenged son (Tom Guiry) reenters it. The picture concentrates on illegal gaming procedures with some touching father-son moments. Now playing in limited release, this pleasant film is sure to find some brief support at the box office.
Joe (Palminteri) ranks as something of an artist in his chosen craft; his manual dexterity at palming cards and switching dice makes him the quasi-legendary natural within his gang of cons as they invite unsuspecting marks into poker games, invade the craps table at a local union picnic or descend upon Atlantic City and Vegas gambling parlors. Affable Teddy (Linus Roache) generally serves as the designated winner, while worried Stanley (Michael Lerner) manufactures doctored cards and dice for the trade.
Hard work and diversification (Joe also plays the ponies and bets on sports) have earned Joe a comfortable income and a house in the suburbs; however, as a chronic schemer, he dreams of ways to defeat the high-tech, forever cheat-spotting casinos.
Joe’s world slowly opens up to Joe Jr. (Guiry), his relatively high-functioning, 20-year-old son, whose anger and aggression have gotten him kicked out of an institution and onto Joe's reluctant lap.
 The story acknowledges the kid's disability, and Guiry's Joe Jr. is nicely gauged to elicit gasps, laughs, sympathy and respect in equal measure. The humor doesn’t function as outright comedy but more of a tension-breaker, as the story simply moves Joe Sr. toward acceptance and affection for his son. There aren’t any problems, including outbursts of resentment over years of parental neglect, that are not immediately resolved by hugs and professions of support.
Yonkers Joe is a very well-made and well-acted film, with a very touching story about fathers, sons and the difficulties of raising special-needs kids. The film has two stars, Academy Award-nominee Palminteri and Academy Award-winner Christine Lahti, who give their usual solid performances. Joe also features Guiry (“The Black Donnellys”), Golden Globe-nominee Roache and Academy Award-nominee Lerner. Of special note is Guiry's performance as Joe Jr. It should be noted that Guiry’s character is not disabled, and he doesn't attempt to make a major show of portraying someone disabled in the story. Joe Jr. is actually high-functioning, which plays itself out nicely when he discusses the meaning of "reconstructive surgery" after he has talked about a lady’s private parts like the child he is at times.
Actors are forever attempting to discover roles they were meant to play. When they find that project, everything about the performance seems to flow effortlessly. Palminteri discovered such a role in this production and delivers a beautifully sensitive performance as Yonkers Joe: a performance that effortlessly takes the viewer into a richly photographed presentation of a world that many people hear about but so very few understand.
 In this ode to old-time gamblers, who have become outdated thanks to the age of powerful, upscale casinos and their technical advances, Joe is determined to make one last grab for a big score in Vegas while including his son in something for a change. However, unlike Harvey Keitel's gambling dad in My Sexiest Year, Palminteri's Joe boasts little charm or colorful personality. He makes the role his but his slow conversion, convincing as it is, fails to stir up much empathy. This is more the fault of writer/director Celestino, who doesn’t present more on the page so that it can be revealed on-screen.
Palminteri does a wonderful job with what he has to go on, but had he been offered more than being a crook and instead played someone who audiences really cared about in the long run, this project would have soared. Unfortunately, Celestino only presents a small-time gambler to audiences without taking the time to have viewers care about him. This confirms that Celestino knows his way around a local cash-stakes game of craps. However, it also proves, unfortunately, that his scripting skills need substantial honing even though this is a story he knows all too well.
For the most part, Yonkers Joe is finely photographed and moves the eyes nicely from opening to closing. However, there appears to be some stock footage used during the Vegas montage (something that didn’t need to be shown in the first place) which takes away from the strong presentation. Also, the music of the film doesn’t live up to the standards of the rest of the production. It really is a disappointment. The music does not provide a lasting memory nor does it provide a stirring contribution to the overall quality while viewing the film. The music just exists, and music needs to do more by providing the proper mood at any given moment.
All in all, though, Yonkers Joe is a fun, sweet movie. It wouldn’t be a gamble to spend a little time with this charmer.
Yonkers Joe is now playing in limited release and is available on HDNet Ultra VOD.
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