Monday, September 10, 2012

Next Stop, Greenwich Village














Paul Mazursky's Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976) plays like a laid-back version of Saturday Night Fever (1977). I like both films for their ambience and ensemble chracters. From the perspective of 2012, they are of fascinating historical interest regarding New York City and environs in the 1970s (the latter) and in 1953 (the former). 

There are plenty of fun things to look for in Next Stop, Greenwich Village. Here are three: Bill Murray at a rent party (briefly), Jeff Goldblum as an aspiring, eccentric actor (somewhat briefly) and Christopher Walken as Robert, a sharp-minded dandy poet. Walken is terrific, in fact. But wait: there's more! Antonio "Huggy Bear" Vargas plays a gay dandy, Shelley Winters a dramatic, smothering Jewish mother. Then there's the sad-faced character actor Mike Kellin as her husband, Lenny Baker as their son and lead character, Ellen Greene as the absorbingly interesting Sarah Roth, Dori Brenner as friend Connie and Lois Smith plays the often suicidally depressed Anita. And there's more!

Overall, Next Stop, Greenwich Village renders a low-key take on the Bohemian scene in the Village. The dual fate of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg hangs in the background. The main characters are fairly avant-garde for 1953: socially integrated, pro-Choice, alcohol- art- and gay-friendly, literate and open-minded. In 2012, they could be elder statesmen for the Democratic Party. Can you dig?

Today's Rune: Flow.   

2 comments:

Adorably Dead said...

So Bill Murray and Jeff Goldblum play themselves, got it. :p lol.

And holy wow that is really accepting for that era.

Charles Gramlich said...

Wow, some pretty good actors in there, and I leave Bill Murray out of that comment. :) I may want to see this, I like Goldblum a lot.