The Lords of Flatbush

Wanted to give this one a chance after all these years. Prior to Happy Days and Rocky, Winkler and Stallone star in this homage to a teen gang (and their love lives) in Brooklyn in the 1950s. Very lacking in dialogue and plot but was just interesting enough to hold my attention.

Amateurish American Graffiti inspired nostalgia piece takes place in the 50's rather than the 60's and focuses on a greaser gang, which Kaufman exploited to much better effect with The Wanderers in the late 70's. There is a naive charm to the performances, but this coming of age tale doesn't completely ring true because the relationships between the gang members are poorly fleshed out, and the montage reel that closes the film aims for a bittersweet tone that's contrived and clearly unearned.

Some nice Brooklyn footage and a strong lived-in feel for a period piece, but pretty vacant otherwise. Criminally ill-fitting and poorly mixed musical score.

Passes the time.