Search - Queens Logic on DVD

Great movie, but too underestimated!!

Maria Chiara Ronconi | Serino(AV) ITALY | 08/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!!"

One of my favorite romantic comedies

Maria Chiara Ronconi | 08/17/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not from New York, but there's just something about this movie. The small parts alone almost make it worth a watch... Megan Mullaly (now on "Will & Grace") as a drunken bar conquest, Richard Kind (of "Mad About You" and currently on "Spin City") as a partygoer, Todd Field (Nick Nightingale in "Eyes Wide Shut" and the most unexplained/useless character in "The Haunting") as Cecil.I loved Mantegna's ability to get by on attitude ("I can work with that" - "box seats, the Mets, tonight"), Jamie Lee Curtis' cameo, Linda Fiorentino's ability to make "backed up anger" sound like "back tabanga", John Malkovich with a shotgun... and Tom Waits' character of Monte is one of the most loveable onscreen scuzzballs you'll find. It's not a movie you love for the continuity of plot or the great acting throughout. No one in the movie really has to stretch that far. It's a movie you love for its moments (like the howling scene)... and a kickin' soundtrack."