Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)

There were loads of these type of films made in the mid 1970s about aspiring types finally out from under their parental wing and now hitting the big city with dreams and hormones racing. Here, the quite charismatic Lenny Baker is “Larry”, a Jewish lad who thinks he could be the next Marlon Brando, or maybe Laurence Olivier - even though a local beat cop reckons he might want to change professions altogether. He has moved away from his doting but overpowering mother (Shelley Winters) and takes up with his girlfriend “Sarah” (Ellen Greene) for the usual slew of castings, romantic interludes, fights and squabbles as he tries to keep his life on an even keel whilst he seeks that elusive break. Will it ever come? This is an observational look at a chunk of his life. We learn a little of his earlier life but for the most part we just follow their day-to-day antics as he tries to reconcile his ambitions with  her’s and the reality of his new and bumpy Brooklyn life. There are no conclusions here, though maybe progress is made as he begins to realise that he is not the first in his family to want more, nor is he the only one with the talent to perhaps support that. He begins to appreciate that sacrifices have been made for him just as he has to make them now, himself. Winters doesn’t really feature that often, but when she does she delivers quite strongly with a short burst of Maria Callas livening things up and lightening the mood for a few moments too. Thanks to characters like Christopher Walken’s “Fulmer” and “Bernstein” from the man forever remembered  as “Huggy Bear” (Antonio Fargas) it also manages to take a light-hearted swipe at the pomposity of the creative community and it’s occasionally flamboyant population. It’s an enthusiastic and lively production that does play a little to stereotype now and again, but it keeps clear of sentiment, is quite funny and worth a watch.