QUEENS LOGIC
A film review by Wayne Citrin
Copyright 1991 Wayne Citrin
Summary: DINER goes to Queens.
The summary I posted above, "DINER goes to Queens," is not necessarily dismissive. DINER was a great film, and we need more films like DINER. I used to call these films "coming-of-age films," thinking of such examples as AMERICAN GRAFFITI, but as I wrote this review, it occurred to me that most of the most interesting examples of this genre involve post-adolescents, although the central event is one that finally forces the group to grow up. These films involve a group of long-time friends who are either reunited, or one of them, who has been away for a long time, finally returns. The cause for their reunion is usually an event like a wedding or a funeral, although it may sometimes simply be a regular reunion. The films are usually comedies. Some of the best films in this genre, in my opinion, are the aforementioned DINER, THE RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN, THE BIG CHILL, FIVE CORNERS, and THE WANDERERS (the only example in the group that is about adolescents). The worst film in this genre that I can think of is ST. ELMO'S FIRE. QUEENS LOGIC falls somewhere in the middle, although on the better-than-average side.
The plot is easily summarized. One of the gang is about to get married. They all hang out together and are joined by one friend who returns from California for the wedding. They hang out, talk about life, get drunk. Each has a problem. Al's wife has just walked out on him. Ray, the one about to get married, is getting cold feet. Denny was never the success in Hollywood that he claims to be. Vince is looking for love (or maybe just a good lay, it's not clear which). Elliot is a homosexual, which (according to Hollywood rules) is supposed to make him unhappy. Everything comes to a head at the big bachelor's party, which is more like a regular great party than a traditional bachelor's party.
Let's talk about what's wrong with the movie first. Most of the characters are simply labels. Ray is an Artist. Denny is a California Musician. Vince is a Lover. Elliot is a Tormented Homosexual. A little more depth in the characterizations would have been appreciated.
Also, the women's roles are generally peripheral. In a film where relations with women are central (Al's wife, Ray's wedding), the women are good, long-suffering, and eventually forgiving. Jamie Lee Curtis shows up in a cameo that's somewhat inexplicable.
The screenplay could have been a little more carefully written. There are two incidents involving a gun near the end of the film that are almost replays of each other. The first one worked, the second could have been taken out. Also, some of the set-piece speeches just don't work.
The film trades on a Queens mystique. But the problem is, there is no Queens mystique. It's just a place, and not a very interesting one, either. (At least not in the white working-class ethnic areas they concentrate on; there are some very interesting ethnic neighborhoods in Queens.) I have some limited experience in this: I was born in Flushing, spent a year in Forest Hills, and my mother's family comes from Queens. It's just not such an interesting place.
So, what's good about the film? The main thing that's good about it is Joe Mantegna as Al. His performance holds the film together, just as Al holds the group of friends together. This is the first thing I've ever seen Mantegna do that I've really liked. (The other things I've seen him in were HOUSE OF GAMES, THINGS CHANGE, and THE GODFATHER PART III.) John Malkovich is good as Elliot, but he's been good in everything I've seen him in. Tom Waits has an excellent small part as a wonderfully strange shady character named Monty.
The best thing about the movie is the friendship between the characters. It's believable that these guys have been together for a long time, and that the genuinely like each other. Since the friendship is what's on screen most of the time, the film worked for me.
QUEENS LOGIC is not perfect, but if you enjoy this sort of film, go and see it. You could do a lot worse.
-- Wayne Citrin citrin@soglio.colorado.edu citrin@boulder.colorado.edu
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