`SAINTS' BE PRAISED ... SOMEWHAT.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic It happens in Hollywood all the time. Guy writes a memoir about his youth, full of unusual if not exactly earth-shaking events. Good book, gets turned into a movie. But all the stuff that's really distinctive and interesting about his life gets cut out, leaving a fairly generic, coming-of-age-in-a-tough-neighborhood story on the screen. In this case, the poor guy is Dito Montiel Dito Montiel, born as Orlandito Montiel, (July 26, 1970- ) is an American author, screenwriter, director and musician. Born in New York City, he came into the public eye after the breakup of his hardcore punk band Major Conflict. . And he did it to himself. Authentic '80s Queens I'm being a little too hard on Montiel and his perfectly respectable directing debut, ``A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.'' It's got fine performances, is artfully shot and structured, and there's an undeniable authenticity to its details about growing up in Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City (bordering at Broadway), Sunnyside (bordering at , in the 1980s -- and getting the heck out of there while he still could. But we've been down these mean streets many times in movies since Martin Scorsese Noun 1. Martin Scorsese - United States filmmaker (born in 1942) Scorsese gave us the definitive tour more than 30 years ago. And as good and true as Montiel's memories are, they're just not that dramatically remarkable. Which is a shame, because Montiel's extremely engaging memoir of the same name is packed with wry, observant anecdotes about his brief teenage celebrity as an underwear model and a highly paid frontman front·man n. 1. also front man A man who serves as a nominal leader but who lacks real authority. 2. Music A leading singer with a group. for an punk band that bombed. Won at Sundance, but ... Not the most exciting stuff, true, but different enough to have been intriguing. As for what is on the screen, well, it won both directing and ensemble cast An ensemble cast is a cast in which the principal performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows for flexibility for writers to focus on different awards at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Deserved, as far as I can tell. But I still had a hard time caring about young Dito and his troubled friends' commonplace issues. The reliable Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf[1] (pronounced SHY-uh luh-BUFF, IPA: /ˈʃaɪə ləˈbʌf/[2]; born June 11, 1986) is a Daytime Emmy Award-winning[2] American actor and comedian. (``The Greatest Game Ever Played'') plays the teenaged Dito. He lives in a cramped apartment with his loving, sickly and overly needy dad Monty (Chazz Palminteri Chazz Palminteri (b. May 15, 1952) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor and writer, best known for his performances in The Usual Suspects, A Bronx Tale and Mulholland Falls. ) and shuffling-through-life mom Flaurie (Dianne Wiest). Dito mostly hangs with a crew of semi-delinquents, getting high and petty criminalizing and fighting with other ethnic groups (although Montiel is of Nicaraguan and Irish heritage, his movie hood's makeup, though never specified, appears to be Italian-American). Antonio (Channing Tatum, who recently broke out in ``Step Up'') is the most dangerous and self-destructive of Dito's pals. A new kid from Scotland, Mike O'Shea (Martin Compston Martin Compston (born 8 May 1984) is a Scottish actor. He is perhaps most notable for his role as Liam in Sweet Sixteen, and for his role as Ewan Brodie in Monarch of the Glen. , brilliant in Ken Loach's ``Sweet 16''), gives Dito an inkling of the possibilities that lay beyond the borough's boundaries. As problems with girls, gangs, the law and just plain maturing increase, Dito determines to buck local custom and seek a better life elsewhere. More than anybody, his dad views this as a mortal betrayal. Many years later, the adult Dito, now played by Robert Downey Jr., returns home for a chance at reconciliation and to check out what's gone down with his old buddies. The kids are all right The younger actors are fantastic, vital and spontaneous. The parenting generation look like they're acting, really hard. The in-betweeners -- beside Downey, Rosario Dawson Rosario Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Early life Dawson was born in New York City to Isabel,[1] a Bronx-born professional vocalist, and Greg Dawson, a construction worker.[2] The two are now divorced. plays the adult version of Dito's true love, and Eric Roberts is the grown Antonio -- are fine, but again, their characters haven't gone anywhere particularly unexpected or startling star·tle v. star·tled, star·tling, star·tles v.tr. 1. To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start. 2. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly. See Synonyms at frighten. . All in all, ``Saints'' is a good, tough memory piece and an above-average directing debut. But even if it makes me a celebrity hound, I would have liked it better with the wacky encounters with Allen Ginsberg, Liza Minnelli and the like that were in the book. They're just better stories. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS - Two and one half stars (R: violence, sex, nudity, language, drug use) Starring: Shia LeBeouf, Robert Downey Jr., Chazz Palminteri, Rosario Dawson, Channing Tatum, Dianne Wiest. Director: Dito Montiel. Running time: 1 hr. 38 min. Playing: Playhouse 7, Pasadena; Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Westside Pavilion, West L.A.; Monicas, Santa Monica; Edwards South Coast Village, Santa Ana. In a nutshell: Well-observed New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of coming-of-age story, but suffers from too much similarity to other neighborhood movies. |
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