Welcome to Harlem

This is no doubt one of the best indie movies we've ever seen. It can be a bit rough around the edges, but if anything that adds to the feel and the vibe!! I nearly cried three times from laughing so hard--and according to them everything is filmed and created by local Harlemites!! Love it :D. If you have any interest in musicals, Harlem or hilarity, you have to check this out!

OK, favorite scenes: 1) The classroom scene. Inappropriate, but containing one of the funniest lines ever. "On a scale of one to ten..."

2) The musical riot. Enough said.

3) The tripping scene. Coolest animation transition you'll ever see..

Although this is set in today's Harlem its theme is timeless and universal: a group of young, newly-independent friends trying to find their way to the careers and loves and lives they're searching for. As they navigate the complicated currents of jobs and relationships and dreams and ambitions, they chalk up both victories and disappointments.

Everything in their environment, from the lively, colorful street life to local housing squabbles to economic pressures to serious partying, provides grist for the comedy and the music.

It's hard to believe this movie is the work of a first-time producer. It may be a little rough at the edges (although impressively crafted considering its shoestring budget), but it doesn't lack in exuberance or heart or musical richness.

The lyrics of the final song sum up the spirit of not only the characters in the story but the talented team behind the film:

"If you stay true to yourself and follow your heart, Then I can promise, it will be OK."

I first saw this film at the 2012 Manhattan Film Festival where I also had a movie showing. I met filmmaker/lead actor, Mark, at the Producer's Club Theater and asked him a bit about the movie. He informed me that it was an "indie musical comedy". I was immediately hooked because the words indie and musical generally don't appear in the same sentence. When it comes to independent film, most people cop out for "talkies" due to budgetary restraints, but not Mark. Mark and his band of misfits have created a phenomenal work here, an instant classic NYC movie that young people trying their hand at life in the Big Apple can relate to. I moved to NYC in 2003 on $3,000 (which ended up getting taken by a broker for an apartment I never got to live in). Many of the struggles of the characters in this film are some of the same struggles I went through for many years since. I, like a lot of other transplants, can very much relate to the story and its characters.

The movie is timeless and the music is hopping. I find myself walking around New York City with the tracks playing in my MP3 player and people look at me like I'm crazy because I'm dancing around and smiling like a maniac. Sometimes I sing along while on the Staten Island Ferry... "when it comes to romance... and you wanna take a chance... you gotta dance dance dance."

-Eric