4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Time Moves Quickly With This Pleasant Film., August 10, 2005
Four men, displeased with the overcrowded, underlit and noisy night club where they gather, decide to pool their funds in order to open a bar and grill, taking with them from their old hangout two favoured employees, bartender Freddie (Kohl Suddeth) and doorman Xavier (Luis Guzmán), but the entrepreneurs soon learn that the success toward which they look forward is elusive. Because their original seed funding - $100,000 - is insufficient, Freddie persuades a family member, mobster Frankie "Chips" (Bert Young), to contribute a matching amount, but after a successful opening night, the business suffers a sharp dip in receipts. The quartet is then forced to yield to a suggestion from Frankie that their type of operation be changed to an adult cabaret featuring topless dancers and, despite the vigourous objections from one of the original partners, played by a rather hammy David Herman, the new operation becomes an immediate hit, although there are expected comedic complications. The actors are well cast for the texture established by first time director Michael Bregman and the film is shot in great part at the Lucerne Hotel and its Wilson's Grill and Bar in New York City's upper West Side, while Kohl, Michael Rooker, and Guzmán give notably strong performances, the latter smoothly handling a voiceover track. Bregman's background in television is plainly apparent throughout the piece, particularly pertinent to editing. A highly episodic work, it is smoothly constructed and it is obvious that all involved have a good time along the way, with the salad of subplots blended into a film having about it a feeling of good nature.
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