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Bonus Review #13
Film: Little Fugitive [NR] 90 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $7
Where Viewed: Broadway Performance Hall, Seattle, WA
[2006 Seattle International Film Festival]
When 1st Seen: 27 May 2006
Time: 9:15 p.m.
After a showing of her recent documentary film regarding the plight of children growing up in America at the MOMA, a fan suggested to Director Joanna Lipper that she might like to know that the rights to Little Fugitive had become available after Disney® had finally passed on the project and that she might like to consider a remake. Never having directed a narrative film before, she set about doing the research necessary and ultimately got in touch with Morris Engle, the original co-director of Little Fugitive, and convinced him her project would be a success. According to Ms Lipper, Mr. Engle was fully on board with the project and served as a consultant. He also wanted her to make the new film her own, not simply remake his. Which is exactly what she did. The original Little Fugitive was released in 1953 and has been described as one of the first, great independent films. Its writers were honored with an Academy Award® nomination for what was called in 1953, best WRITING (Motion Picture Story). Needless to say, the original is considered by many fans to be a classic in the slice-of-life genre, and the definitive film for those who wish to recall the look and feel of what it was like to be a kid in New Your City in 1953.
A tale that is really deep down the story of two brothers, the original film starred Richie Andrusco as Joey,the little brother and a.k.a. The Coney Island Kid, and Richard Brewseter as his older brother Lenny. The crux of the story in both films is that Joey is made to believe that he has killed his older brother, and he flees to Coney Island to escape the long arm of the law. Of course, if you are unfamiliar with the original, it bears mentioning that the boys' ages combined barely make 19 years. One of Ms Lipper's chief challenges in the remake was to time shift the film to present day—a feat that most critics will probably say defeats the point. Indeed, I would have piped up in early dialogues and insisted that there be a real justification for a remake. In any case, her desire was to add in elements that illuminate the unique difficulties faced by kids who grow up with absentee parents today. In this particular case, she added in Joey and Lenny's father, a character that didn't exist in the original. Brendan (Find Me Guilty) Sexton III plays the kids' incarcerated father and grandson of one of the residents of Lilliputia—a tiny town in one of the Coney Island theme parks which housed over 350 little people back in its hey-day. So, Joey (David Castro) and Lenny (Nicolas Salgado) are being raised primarily by their mom who, between issues with alcohol consumption and plain neglect, has proven herself time and again a tad unworthy of their custody. So, when, of all things, she decides to go to Atlantic City with a co-worker for Lenny's 12th birthday, leaving Lenny in charge of his little brother back at home, well, that's when the very sad prank where Joey is led to believe by Lenny and his friends that he has shot and killed his brother occurs. I also must admit that it was at this point that I started to worry that some decisions had been made in the script that were, unfortunately, sending this film south on the W.I.P. Scale™ for me. We are supposed to believe that Joey, who is smart enough, capable enough, and lucky
"...the original was touching and provided a slice-of-life for 1953, this update did not provide the equivalent for 2006. "enough to flee the scene of the 'crime' and make it to the prison where his father is being kept, use his friend's mother (who just happens to be there at the same time out of the blue), to get inside since you need a parent to get in, and talk with his father about what happened though he won't tell him what he thinks he's done, is not swift enough to figure out that he was conned in the first place? I just didn't buy that, maybe in 1953 I would have, but not in 2006. From there, the film starts to spin out of control. On the one hand, we have Lenny suddenly realizing that what he has done to his brother was terrible, and immediately setting about searching for him with his friends because (by the way, he flees with the live gun in his possession), and on the other we have the defiant Joey rushing to Coney Island and getting nearly molested by the Pony Ride man, fraternizing with Mermaid models on the beach, and being taken in by a scruffy homeless girl who collects cans and bottles on the shore to make money. Does Lenny ever think of looking for Joey at Coney Island? No, despite the fact that Coney Island was part of the source of the problem between the two in the first place. Talk of riding the Cyclone all day for his birthday tortured Joey and caused him to want to shadow Lenny. This then led to Lenny deciding to play the prank so that he and his friends could spend his 12th birthday on the Cyclone all day without a tag-a-long. So, wouldn’t that be the first place you'd look for him? When they finally reconnect, they make a brotherhood pact never to allow themselves out of each other's sight until they are 99 years old. The pact, however, is cut short by their decision to never go home, the assembly of an illegal beach fire to roast marshmallows, them being confronted by NYPD officers, Lenny pulling a gun on the officers when they mention bringing the boys in, a call to their mother who has finally returned from Atlantic City with a small cake in hand, and Joey and Lenny both becoming wards of the state and put in foster care. From absurd to surreal in no time. Of course, I have a pact never to give away the ending of a film, so all I can say is that it only gets worse. After another misplaced piece of archival footage of old-school Coney Island, this time about how there was an entire facility on the island specifically for pre-mature babies because hospitals didn't want anything to do with them, the brothers meet up to carry out a promised adventure with inexplicable consequences.
I know that a lot of time, talent, and treasure went into making this film. The acting was fairly good—I was not as thrilled by the talents of the little kids as some people have been. I thought they were good but not that great. I just felt that, overall, the film did not work that well. If the original was touching and provided a slice-of-life for 1953, this update did not provide the equivalent for 2006. In too many ways, it reminded me of a PG-13 rated after school special. There was too much implausibility in the plot, and the ending just left me cold and a little bitter that I would never really know what happens to the boys. I applaud Ms Lippman's efforts. I believe she had a good vision in mind. Unfortunately, I feel the story wasn't strong enough for today's audiences, lacked plausibility, and concluded badly. All in all, I cannot really recommend the film, especially to fans of the original. I don't think you'll find any of the old magic in this one.
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