29th Street (1992)
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80% of critics liked it
(10 reviews) -
69% of users liked it
(2,280 ratings)
A hybrid cross-pollination of a Martin Scorsese and Frank Capra film, this feel-good comic fantasy is loosely based on the real-life story of a New York lottery winner. Anthony LaPaglia stars as Frank Pesce Jr., a New Yorker with a good-luck streak that is unmatched in his Little Italy neighborhood.… More A hybrid cross-pollination of a Martin Scorsese and Frank Capra film, this feel-good comic fantasy is loosely based on the real-life story of a New York lottery winner. Anthony LaPaglia stars as Frank Pesce Jr., a New Yorker with a good-luck streak that is unmatched in his Little Italy neighborhood. When Frank throws a pair of dice in a game of chance, he doesn't just toss a winning hand, the dice land on top of each other. When he's stabbed in the chest by a girlfriend's brother, his doctors find a pre-cancerous tumor. Although he tries again and again to get rid of a vehicle he no longer wants, it is retrieved every single time by the authorities. So when New York announces its first statewide lottery in 1976, Frank buys one ticket and immediately becomes everybody's best friend. Unfortunately, Frank's good luck is matched by the equally bad luck of his hard-working father, Frank Sr. (Danny Aiello), who has run up a gambling debt to a local mobster. The wise guy is willing to forgive the note if Frank Jr. will just hand over his sure-to-be lucky ticket, leaving the city's luckiest Italian-American in a bit of a moral quandary. The real Frank Pesce Jr. executive produces and co-stars in 29th Street as his own police officer brother, Vito. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Rating, Runtime
- R, 1 hr. 41 min.
- Directed By
- George Gallo
- Genres
- Comedy
- In Theaters
- Nov 1, 1991 Wide
- On DVD
- Mar 22, 2005
- Studio
- Anchor Bay Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...peppered with sequences that are either overlong or entirely superfluous.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Hardly a winner!
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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Offers some interesting new twists on the well-worn theme of father-son conflicts.
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Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Shoots for Capraesque and falls well short ... but still worth watching on cable one boring night.
Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Danny Aielloas Frank Pesce Sr. -
Anthony LaPagliaas Frank Pesce Jr. -
Lainie Kazanas Mrs. Pesce
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Frank Pesceas Vito Pesce -
Donna Magnanias Madeline Pesce -
Rick Aielloas Jimmy Vitello
