Based on Steven Lidz's memoir of his childhood in New York. His father is (we are told) a brilliant inventor; Steven adores his mother and is adored in return. Steven's relatives include two genially crazy uncles, Danny and Arthur, who live together in an apartment across town. Precise diagnoses are never discussed and their behavior is seen from the point of view of a boy, but they both appear to have variants of schizophrenia, Danny being paranoid and Arthur more undifferentiated. Steven's almost blissful family life is cruelly interrupted when his mother becomes ill with cancer. Unhappy with his home life after the change, he 'runs away' to live with his uncles. Their apartment is a crowded archive of their mental illness. Steven is alternately fascinated and mortified by their bizarre behavior, but by sharing their world, he becomes a better person. This movie has no real plot or payoff, but it is captivating and moving. My upbringing was completely different from Steven's, but as a member of a Jewish family that has produced both some very bright people and some very crazy people, I can say that the film conveys the accuracy of 'felt life'. It is the antithesis of today's usual deadly conformist, formulaic and violence-ridden Hollywood films.
Nathan Watt does a very good job as Steven. John Turturro as his father is part of the long and distinguished tradition in American film and television of Italians playing Jews (and vice versa); he's done it at least once before ("Barton Fink"). You can't help but see a bit of Cosmo Kramer in Michael Richards's performance as Danny. Best of all was Arthur as played by that shambling, rumpled Canadian bear Maury Chaikin. Most of the IMDb reviews rave about Andie MacDowell, but this Jewish reviewer feels that in fact she was woefully miscast as Steven's mother Selma; in her looks, her speech, her mannerisms, her body language, and her demeanor, she totally fails to convince as a New York Jewish woman. This was the sort of role that should have gone to someone like Lisa Edelstein, Bette Midler, Tovah Feldshuh or Debra Winger.
