The Boys of 2nd Street Park

Rating:
Summary: A total surprise
Review: I had never heard of this until I saw it on my library's shelf. I wasn't expecting much; I wasn't even sure if I'd watch it. I thought I'd pop it in for a minute to give it a try. It turned out to be one of the best trips-down-memory-lane documentaries that I have seen. It still comes across as being made for cable (you won't confuse it for a higher budget documentary), but that's just fine. And the editing leaves you curious at times as to why they did it that way, but it doesn't hurt anything. And the footage from the past is limited, but that doesn't matter much either. What does matter is the directness and reality of the stories being told. None of it is sensationalistic, and all of it is interesting. A fascinating and memorable look at a generation and a "style" of American living that has all but disappeared since the flourishing of suburban living, TV, drugs, broken families, political correctness, and bad schools (could I over-generalize today's society problems any better?). Even if you aren't from the old neighborhood (I'm far from it), you will still find something life-affirming in this. Check it out if you get the chance.

Rating:
Summary: A total surprise
Review: I had never heard of this until I saw it on my library's shelf. I wasn't expecting much; I wasn't even sure if I'd watch it. I thought I'd pop it in for a minute to give it a try. It turned out to be one of the best trips-down-memory-lane documentaries that I have seen. It still comes across as being made for cable (you won't confuse it for a higher budget documentary), but that's just fine. And the editing leaves you curious at times as to why they did it that way, but it doesn't hurt anything. And the footage from the past is limited, but that doesn't matter much either. What does matter is the directness and reality of the stories being told. None of it is sensationalistic, and all of it is interesting. A fascinating and memorable look at a generation and a "style" of American living that has all but disappeared since the flourishing of suburban living, TV, drugs, broken families, political correctness, and bad schools (could I over-generalize today's society problems any better?). Even if you aren't from the old neighborhood (I'm far from it), you will still find something life-affirming in this. Check it out if you get the chance.

Rating:
Summary: A well made, touching story of real people.
Review: This was originally a Showtime production that thankfully has made it to mass media. Its a touching, sometimes sad, sometimes uplifting story of a group of friends, now in their mid 50s, and the different paths they took from the 1960s to the present. If you're an east coast city person and about their age you might really relate. I has some of the choppiness that you might expect from any documentary, but I heartilly recommend it to anyone who likes real stories of real people.