Back in the Day

Cristian demeo plays a younger version of william demeo in this horrible goodfellas rocky rip off. Cris is more horrible than his dad William. William demeo plays Lefty a 60 year old predophiler who wants to go into boxing. The only good actor was Michael Madsen who did this for a paycheck.

A young man grows up In a mob controlled neighbourhood in Brooklyn. Being half Italian and half Puerto Rican he faces constant challenges. His father is a drunk and his mother is always working which gives him ample time to pound the sand bag. Michael Madsen plays a mob boss who sets up the boy with a trainer played by Danny Glover, seeing potential in him. His mother is killed by a hit and run driver which changes his life. He now strives to be middleweight champion of the world.

They try and make a Rocky meets Goodfellas with mostly unbelievable characters. Alec Baldwin and Madsen do fine but the rest? The story focuses on his growing up and the life around him. The run time is two hours which is too long for this one. Mike Tyson's cameo was cheesy as he shows up to give the boxer a pep talk, which looks like he was reading off a prompt.

William DeMeo really must be a nice and communicative guy. He produced, wrote and starred in this film (he's the main character: the Anthony Rodriguez guy, the boxer…) and I think he saved it too.

I'm saying it because sometimes it's only because of him if some really badly written and really badly acted scenes did not kill the entire story.

This is the (long: about two hours) story of a Brooklyn middleweight trying to fight his way through all the difficulties that life and a violent neighborhood put on his path. It's a classic, so don't expect anything original: the plot is catching nonetheless and some very good actors (Alec Baldwin, Danny Glover, William Madsen…) help the film shine and look more real.

This film tells the story of a man from Brooklyn, who grew up in a tough neighbourhood controlled by Mafia. With the support from the highest levels of gangsters, he becomes a successful boxer after going through a rough and tough journey.

I thought "Back in the Day" was a film about boxing, but it actually was a film about gangsters and their fights. I like the story because it tells how Anthony's​ childhood shapes the adult he becomes. He has a lot of good virtues, such as loyalty and determination. His friendship with Matty and his love for Maria are well portrayed, while the metaphorical and physical fights with his nemesis Dominic are realistic. I enjoyed the film.

I knew this movie wasn't going to be a classic before I watched it, so my expectations were low going in. The opening scenes were actually quite promising. I'm a sucker for nostalgia and for the whole plucky underdog made good thing. However, this movie didn't work for me. The plot is thick with the worst kind of tropes. I mean, really thick. I'd love to say it was so bad, it was good... But it really wasn't. I'd skip this one if I were you. Its not rocky and it's not good- fellas. It has a MOTW feel. I believe the main actor also wrote it. I wonder if he funded it too? I can't understand how it would have got made otherwise. There are some good actors in there, but they're under utilised and don't make any impact. There's even a surprise cameo towards the end. I won't spoil it, but it's laughable. By that point, after cliché on top of cliché, the scene just felt self indulgent.