Josh Reviews Somewhere in Queens

Somewhere in Queens is the directorial debut of Ray Romano.  Mr. Romano co-wrote the screenplay with Mark Stegemann, and he stars in the film as Leo Russo.  Leo is a classic Ray Romano character, a good-hearted but somewhat bumbling schlub, who works for his father’s construction company, where he is treated with very little respect (in contrast to his brother, Frank, who is their father’s right-hand man).  Leo is married to Angela (played by Laurie Metcalf), who is dealing with the emotional fallout of a close call with cancer.  Their son is a high-school senior nicknamed Sticks.  He’s a good kid who has long struggled with anxiety, but to everyone’s surprise he’s found success on the basketball court on his high school team.  Suddenly the possibility exists that, instead of following his father into a job in the family construction business after graduation, maybe Sticks can get a basketball scholarship and go to college.  With an important tryout coming up, Leo will do anything to make sure everything goes smoothly for his son.  Of course, his well-intentioned attempts threaten to mess everything up…

I quite enjoyed this film!  It seems to have flown under the radar this year, but I thought it was lovely, a sweet story filled with terrific characters, elevated by the top-notch performances across the board.  I’m glad to have seen it.  (It made my list of my favorite movies of 2023!)

Despite the importance Leo places on Stick’s basketball tryout, the film is a relatively low-stakes, slice-of-life story.  There are not many big sweeping character arcs.  Small spoiler: while I wanted there to be a point in the film in which Leo would tell off his father or brother, who treat him so dismissively, that doesn’t ever happen.  In hindsight, it would have been out-of-character for Leo, and also the type of thing that might happen in a movie but probably wouldn’t happen in real life.  I love that about the film.  It’s great fun to get to dip into these people’s lives for the run-time of the film.  Frankly, I think the film’s weak-spots come when Mr. Romano & co. try to insert some more outlandish turns that happen in movies but not so much in real life.  I rolled my eyes at the mid-movie turn in which Leo tries to convince Sticks’ girlfriend Dani to mislead Sticks about something important, and there’s one Big Dramatic Scene at a party in the film’s third act that was a little much for me.  Those developments felt too sitcommy to me.  The movie worked better when it was being more naturalistic.

Ray Romano is a gifted comedian, and there are some funny bits in the film, but this isn’t a laugh-a-minute yuk-fest.  This is more a drama than a comedy, but there’s enough funny business to keep the film lively without ever allowing it to get too dour.  (It also ends with a terrific — and hilarious — final line that is spectacular!)

Mr. Romano feels effortless in the lead role, in the best way.  I loved watching him as Leo.  The character fits him like a glove.  Mr. Romano plays Leo with just the right gentle touch; he doesn’t lean too hard into Leo’s bumbling.  Leo is just a nice, normal guy who never really amounted to much of anything, and who harbors secret dreams that his son will be able to do better.  Mr. Romano nails this, showing us Leo’s heart, and also the quiet near-desperation he feels at times.  It’s terrific.  (And I never failed to smile when Leo would reference moments from Rocky as a way to make a point.)

Laurie Metcalf (best known, of course, for playing Jackie for so many years on Roseanne and then The Connors) is just as great as Leo’s wife Angela.  I like that the film gives Angela her own storyline and her own issues that she’s dealing with.  She’s a fully-realized character, not just someone to play second-fiddle to Leo’s story.  Ms. Metcalf is perfect playing Angela’s sarcastic, take no bullshit attitude.  Angela has got some big walls up, but Ms. Metcalf deftly lets us see through the cracks in her armor.

Jacob Ward plays Sticks, and he’s terrific!  What a great performance.  I love this kid — both the character and the actor.  I look forward to seeing what Mr. Ward does next.  Sadie Stanley is also terrific as Sticks’ new girlfriend, Dani.  (This film is excellently cast!)  Again, I like that the film’s smart script, along with Ms. Stanley’s performance, takes the time to give her some character depth — she’s not just a plot device.  It’s wonderful to see Tony Lo Bianco (The French Connection, Serpico) as Leo’s tough dad, “Pops”, and comedian Sebastian Maniscalco is perfect as Leo’s more successful (and more arrogant) brother Frank.

I like the playful, loving way Mr. Romano and co. bring to life (and poke loving fun at) this film’s slice of Italian-American life, with the close-knit families and the Sunday dinners at noon.  A little more of that and a little less unreal, movie-fake plot twisteroonies and this might have been a masterpiece.  As it is, it’s a little shaggy and a little eye-rolling at parts.  But I was won over by the film’s winning cast of characters.  I enjoyed spending time with them all, and I was a little sad when the movie was over!

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