Rockaway

Having grown up in the town next door just a little less than a decade before the one depicted in this film, I can tell you it an incredibly accurate portrayal of the time and place.

The cast is absolutely amazing. I don't want to give the plot away, but this story will tug at your heartstrings.

An incredible feat by a first time film director. I very much look forward to seeing what he does next.

Don't worry. I'll protect you. Who will protect you?

"Rockaway" is an uncomplicated low-budget coming-of-age story that focuses on child abuse and a plan to escape from it. In general, it's not such a bad movie. It doesn't pretend to be any better than an average television film. A kind of Goonies, but not with a treasure map of One-Eyed Willy, but a paper with an inventively worked out sketch that shows how they can eliminate the aggressive father. When Anthony (Keidrich Sellati) and his younger brother John (Maxwell Apple) accidentally meet up with a group of other young kids, a friendship bond develops and the two boys end up in a happier world than they had known until then. No, the film wasn't really bad. Only the performances of the gang of kids was sometimes a bit bumpy. And the end was a bit too corny and artificial. With the right bag of chips and a matching drink, this film is quite enjoyable on a Saturday night!

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I saw a review of this film in the New Yorker last year, and it has been on my list to watch ever since. My only regret is that I waited so long to finally check it out. The talented young cast will make you laugh, make you cry, and remind you of your childhood. I hope more people come across this title and decide to hit the play button, it deserves to be seen. I also adored that the film was inspired by real events of first time feature film director John J. Budion's life. I look forward to checking out his future films and highly recommend Rockaway!

Greetings again from the darkness. This is established Visual Effects artist John J Budion's first feature film as writer-director, and he likely exorcises some personal demons with a semi-autobiographical look back at his childhood. Set in the summer of 1994 in East Rockaway, New York, the story is told from the perspective of an adult John (Frankie J Alvarez), who narrates his recollections of that year.

Young John (played by Maxwell Apple), a somewhat withdrawn kid, hero worships brash New York Knicks guard John Starks to the point that he wears a Starks jersey almost non-stop. The two are polar opposite personalities, and the only one who really understands John's obsession is his protective older brother Anthony (Keidrich Sellati, Henry from "The Americans"). Why does John need Anthony's protection? Well that's due to their abusive father (Wass Stevens, THE WRESTLER) who is bitter and angry most of the time - and takes it out on the boys and their mother (Marjan Neshat).

The brothers share two wishes: a championship for their beloved Knicks and a more peaceful living environment without their abusive father. They are so focused on the latter that they've created a scheme to "off" the angry dad - this despite their mother's promise to take them away from it all as soon as she finds work in another city.

It's about this time when John and Anthony meet some other neighborhood boys, and what follows is the easy camaraderie of kids when no parents are polluting the moment (an ideal that seems quite antiquated in this day and age). Billy (a standout Harrison Wittmeyer) is the mature-beyond-his years leader, Dom (James DiGiamcomo) is the unathletic jokester, Brian (Tanner Flood) is the brainy one, and Sal (Colin Critchley) is the motor-mouthed preener. The boys share a love of sports and the fine art of needling each other with sharp cut-downs. In other words, they are kids being kids, and this escapism opens up a new world for Anthony and John.

It's a coming of age story with obvious comparisons to STAND BY ME and THE SANDLOT, and though not at the level of either of those classics, it does feature some fine nostalgic moments of childhood. The film suffers a bit from an ending that's overly sappy and clean, though kudos to all involved if this is true to their life. It's certainly a stretch for most. Adults are more likely than kids to find appeal here, and the film might have benefited from a better exploration of what drove the dad to such extremes.

Sadly, most of the 9 and 10 reviews here appear to be fakes or "shills."

Here's the honest truth about Rockaway. It plays like a high school production. Of course we all love a good coming of age film, but this one has so many issues, you can't settle in and get lost in it. The acting is bumpy across all characters, particularly the boys who could have performed much better with skilled direction. Overacting and poor delivery are rampant throughout.

To compound the problem, the script itself is problematic, derivative, and often as awkward as the performances of the cast. There is an earnest attempt to infuse the film with the east coast Italian flavor of the locale, but it fails miserably.

Perhaps much of this could be forgiven, but the plot itself is terminally flawed, especially at the end. It just feels forced and lacks the very honesty the movie wants its viewers to connect with.

Lastly, not enough care was taken to ensure 90s scenes contained believable 90s backgrounds and artifacts (sloppy movie making).