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Film Review: Somewhere in Queens

Welcome back to the blog readers. Recently I saw the new dramedy film Somewhere in Queens and I wanted to share my thoughts. So I want to tell you all about what led me to seeing this film. We were coming out of Evil Dead Rise and my mother saw a poster for this film and told us she wanted to see it. I looked at her and asked her why, and she said she saw a trailer and it looked interesting. So long story short, I did not know this film existed until last week.


This film is directed by Ray Romano in his directorial debut, from a script written by him and Mark Stegemann, and stars Romano, Laurie Metcalf, Jacob Ward, Sadie Stanley and Sebastian Maniscalco. In the film, Romano and Metcalf play parents named Leo and Angela Russo, and when the two find out their antisocial son could possibly get a basketball scholarship, Leo goes out of his way to get his son that scholarship, even if it means tearing his Italian family apart.


Like I said, I only heard of this film a week before I saw it, and because of that, I had a gut feeling that it was going to turn out like every other film that gets sprung out to me (Orphan: First Kill and The Invitation last year): not good. Now what I was not expecting was for the fact that I actually found this film okay. Maybe good later on, but okay for now. And if I can be honest with you, this film works better as a drama than it does as a comedy.


The two leads in this film do give good performances. Ray Romano is truthfully not someone I have seen a whole lot of, but I do recognize his status as an A-level actor, and he does give an honest and relatable performance. His passion for the role is evident and you can tell it comes from the heart. And this is my first exposure to Laurie Metcalf, and I was not expecting a lot from her performance. I also was not ready for her to give an Oscar-worthy performance on top of it. For someone who is listed as a comedy actor, she showed some real acting chops in this one, and if the Oscars were next week, she would definitely have a Supporting Actress nomination. She gives a powerful and meaningful performance that honestly took me aback.


Jacob Ward plays their son "Sticks," and his performance is pretty good to be honest. As someone who is not the most social person, I was able to gravitate towards his levied grace. I could understand his feelings and create an emotional bond to the character. Sadie Stanley's character starts off charming, but I found her to be annoying by the end of it. That would be one of the weaker parts of the film to me. And Sebastian Maniscalco actually has something to do in the film and provides levity where it needs to be and drama where it has to be.


I previously mentioned that this film works better as a drama then it does as a comedy, and I will tell you why. As a comedy, it feels awkward and a majority of the jokes fall flat. The ones that didn't made me smile, especially the joke about the meatballs, because that one is so relevant and familiar to me as an Italian. But I was engaged to the drama throughout, from when the parents find out about the scholarship to when they find out what Leo has been doing to make this possible.


To conclude my thoughts, Somewhere in Queens is a wonderfully acted film that works better as a drama than as a comedy, which blurs the lines between what it really wants to be. Of course, this is my opinion and I thank you for reading my thoughts. I know this is a shorter review but I have less to say about this one than most films. I have two more reviews coming up, so I hope you all join me for those.

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