Customer Reviews

Queens Logic

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Queens Logic is another of those movies where you ask yourself.... How did I miss this movie before? Queens Logic? Never heard of it!

The movie is special for its little moments and its great characters. The bartender we all wish we knew (Marinaro), the sleazeball with a heart of gold (Tom Waits), Joey Clams, Joe Mantegna paying his employees "in cash or check?", shotgun handy.

The performances are great, particularly Mantegna, and the film succeeds in transporting you to a section of New York only otherwise known as the home of the Mets.

The film succeeds in showing how these friends truly care for one another and has almost as many precious moments as another cult classic (although less steeped in mythology) "The Wanderers". These are the moments you want to look back on. These are the friends who will always love you. This is a movie which feels good to watch.

Sure, "Queens Logic" might at first come across asnothing more than "The Big Chill" Italian-American-style,with a marriage instead of a funeral drawing folks back together. But if ever a movie begs a second (and third) watching it's this one. Not only is it sharply directed by Steve Rash but the acting is quite nearly pristine throughout, an astounding accomplishment considering the number of prime characters, bit-parts and cameo appearances which permeate the storyline from beginning to end. But it's the screenwriting angle that elevates this movie to the category of significant cinematography. The street-level dialogue is classically accurate -- and perfectly delivered.While it shines as an uncensored piece of Big Apple Americana, it also has that feel of college cult favorite, as much for its quirkiness as the now high-profile faces which appear throughout, like an always-way-cool Tom Waits, a left-field-guruish Jamie Lee Curtis, a can't-score-for-nothin' Kevin Bacon and a trascendentally-gay John Malkovich. Worth buying instead of simply renting.

If you know a group of 30 (and even 40) somethings who just can't seem to let go of their adolescence, this film will resonate with you. The buddy relationships depicted amongst the pack of guys are right on target, and the awkwardness between the guys' reliance on the pack and their building adult romantic relationship (heterosexual or gay)beyond the pack is well detailed. Linda Fiorentino and Chloe Webb are a credible and recognizeable pair of friends who suport each other, sometimes in anger, somtimes in bemusement, while the somewhat arrested guys in their lives stumble into growing up. Others may disagree, but I am willing to bet that many single urbanites will shout "bingo" when they overhear some of the film's conversations between guy and girl, guy and guy, and girl and girl. Add some quirky, fun NYC caricatures, an evening of last hurrah stunts, and first rate performances from everyone (particularly Mantegna, Jamie Lee Curtis, Fiorentino, and Malkevich)and you have a solid, enjoyable ensemble piece.

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!!

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.

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.

being from born n raised it brought back a lot of memories under hellgate bridge with roseann longo yo where are u.

When childhood friends Al (Joe Mantegna), Dennis (Kevin Bacon) and Eliot (john Malkovich) get together for Ray`s (Ken Olin) wedding, they end up on a rollercoaster ride through reality. During a crazy weekend they face adulthood and each other with nemfound maturity and discover what Queens Logic is all about. This romantic comedy takes a warm and hilarious look at friendship, loyalty and love.

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.

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.