Coupe de Ville is just one of those films that you like, but can't put your finger on quite why! The direction - by Roth - is straightforward and not terribly unique. The script is just the right side of sentimental. The actors are by no means A-League big-hitters. But this is quite possibly what makes this film so good. It is a film that you watch with absolutely no expectations. By the end of it however you know that what you have just watched, has touched some part of you that has not been touched for a long time. The trio of Stern, Dempsey and Gross are nigh on perfect. The beauty in their acting is, that they act just like brothers. They feel right as a bickering trio of siblings. But the real boon of this film lies in Alan Arkin. So often Alan Arkin has simply played a variation on a theme. But hear the bronchial tones of his voice are given a stage perfectly suited to them. It is with Arkin that the real emotional punch of the movie lies, and working like a super-extended episode of 'The Wonder Years', it suckers you every time. The pacing is perfect, the cast truly 'stellar', the music absolutely incredible. Besides I never would have known that 'Louie, Louie' was a sea-shanty, and for that alone this deserves viewing. A hidden gem.
