Over the Brooklyn Bridge

My review was written in January 1984 after viewing at a Midtown Manhattan screening room.

"Over the Brooklyn Bridge" is producer-director (and Cannon Group chairman) Menahem Golan's love letter to New York City: a warm and pleasant romance similar to the type of films topliner Elliott Gould (and George Segal, as well) used to make 10 or 15 years earlier. Boasting an outstanding (and promotable) supporting performance by Sid Caesar as Gould's bossy uncle, the picture (geared to the audience that attended "My Favorite Year") should do okay business when released later this year through MGM-UA, following its current debut in Tel Aviv.

Screenplay by the late Arnold Somkin (who died in 1982 before production began, and to whom "Bridge" is dedicated) is short on laughs but very effective in portraying a loving, romantic view of New York and its melting pot of ethnic groups. As directed by Golan, and cheerfully lit by cameraman Adam Greenberg, the Big Apple is a paradise where even 42nd Street and the subways are sources of glamor rather than the cliched eyesores they represent in most recent N. Y.-lensed films.

Gould stars as Alby Sherman, owner of a Brooklyn eatery who dreams of buying a posh restaurant on the East Side in midtown Manhattan. His love affair with an aristocratic Catholic girl from Philadelphia (Margaux Hemingway) raises the ire of his Jewish family, particularly the patriarch Uncle Benjamin (Sid Caesar), a women's underwear manufacturer who would rather have Alby marry his fourth cousin Cheryl (Carol Kane).

The basic conflict, as Alby must choose between his dream girl and career advancement (Uncle Benjamin offers a key loan with strings attached0 is not developed beyond the plot gimmick stage, but "Bridge" works well as an actors' vehicle. Leads Gould and Hemingway are solid in the central roles, with standout support from a large cast. Given perhaps the best opportunity in an off-and-on film career to date (including his starring assignments for William Castle in the 1960s), Caesar is very funny as a man who tries to run everyone else's lives for them. He is extremely moving at the film's moment of catharsis, enduring Gould's ultimate rebellion in a strong last reel scene set at an engagement party.

Kane is delightfully droll as the virginal intellectual whose demure exterior hides a rather kinky fatnasy-sex life. There are also nice spots for an Italian pal played by the ubiquitous Burt Young and a variety of other ethnic types.

Release title is a bit weak, with the dialog plugging most of the discarded monikers for this project: "Alby's Special", "Alby's Delight" and "My Darling Shiksa". The marketing challenge is to find an audience for a nice little film which avoids contemporary hooks in favor of romantic-comedy formulas that worked well in the late 1960s.

Ok, this is not a classic, but it has enough nice touches to make it enjoyable. Sometimes good actors make a so-so film less enjoyable because you end up grieving over the waste of talent. Not so here. If you like Carol Kane, Elliott Gould, Shelley Winters, Margaux Hemingway, or Sid Caesar (who gives a knockout performance), if you liked 'Enter Laughing' or 'Crossing Delancey', or even 'Used People', you'll like this. Worth a rent if you're in the right mood.

Alby Sherman (Elliott Gould) owns a small Brooklyn deli. He's desperate to buy an upscale Manhattan restaurant, but he needs an investment from Uncle Benjamin (Sid Caesar). In exchange for $60k, Benjamin wants him to dump his Irish girlfriend Elizabeth Anderson (Margaux Hemingway) of two years and marry a nice Jewish girl.

Director Menahem Golan is most well known for co-owning The Cannon Group. This is not his usual B-action movies, but he does do plenty of other stuff. I'm guessing that he has an affinity for Uncle Benjamin as a character. I do question Elizabeth who has never met his mother or been to his deli. That's not a good look for her. She's also too quick to do the dumping. Margaux does not project such weak will. The love story needs some work. As for Alby, his bad business sense is more frustrating than funny. Otherwise, Elliott Gould is really good. Carol Kane has some fun. The big dinner scene is really interesting although I would do it slightly different. There is no denying Sid Caesar's greatness. This is a fine slice of New York kosher pizza.

"Over the Brooklyn Bridge" is an okay movie...at best. Much of it is because the story is about a guy who is really difficult to like or care about his plight. Had they made Elliott Gould's character at least likable, it could have been a much better film. As it was, I found my interest in the film waning the more I watched.

Alby (Gould) runs a grubby little restaurant in Brooklyn and wants his uncle (Sid Caesar) to help him buy an upscale eatery in Manhattan. However, the uncle is hesitant to give him money because Alby is dating a shiksa (non-Jewish woman). Much of Uncle Benjamin's concerns seem valid...mostly because Alby NEVER has introduced the woman (Margeaux Hemingway) to the family and he seems ashamed of her. However, if Alby drops this two year relationship, the uncle will give him the money. What is Alby to do?

Alby NOT introducing the girlfriend is pretty shameful. But he also just seems like a putz throughout the story....someone who wants to make good but who the audience STILL doesn't care about in any meaningful way.

The direction and editing are choppy and could be much better in addition to the script problems. After all, director Menahem Golan (and his business partner, Yorum Globus) were known as hacks who promoted schlock films during the 1980s. Don't believe this? Try watching their first film "The Apple" or any of their later explosion-riddled action movies!

By the way, the print they showed of this film on Turner Classic Movies is VERY dark and in need of restoration. However, considering it's not exactly a beloved masterpiece, I doubt if this will ever happen.

In the opening scene, as the title "Over the Brooklyn Bridge" splashes across the screen, the main characters are shown (in a dramatic shot) driving across the... Manhattan Bridge... I witnessed this egregious error in a Brooklyn theater, back in the day. I swear, if the director or producer had been present, they would have been ripped apart (literally). Anyway, It all goes down hill from there... the cast although usually talented fail to deliver in this one, they simply sleepwalk through a cookie-cutter Hollywood plot, doing the minimum to earn their keep. This film is a tedious bore, full of cliché lines and cheap devices. it is best sent to the "lost forever" bin.