Two Bits Movie Review 1996

Depression-era drama tells the story of a 12-year-old boy and his emotional coming of age. Title refers to a quarter Gennaro (Barone, in his film debut) seeks in order to attend the grand opening of a glamorous, air-conditioned movie palace. A heavily made-up Pacino (looking suspiciously like Marlon Brando in the garden scene of "The Godfather"), co-stars as the boy's grandfather, who leaves him his last quarter. Gramps promises that he can collect later that day, when, he says, he will die. Fine performances all around and some powerful scenes go a long way toward masking the fact that the material is a bit too thin to stretch over an entire feature film.

Distribution

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1120, Toll-free: 800-723-4763, URL: http://www.bvhe.com

Available on VHS
Running time 85 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Coming of Age, Great Depression, Grandparents, At the Movies, Philadelphia

Screenplay

Joseph Stefano

Cast

Al Pacino, Gerlando Barone, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Joe Grifasi, Joanna Merlin, Andy Romano, Ron McLarty, Donna Mitchell, Patrick Borriello, Mary Lou Rosato, Rosemary DeAngelis

Cinematography

Juan Ruiz-Anchia

Director

James Foley

Music

Jane Musky

Other

Alec Baldwin

Producer

Arthur Cohn, Willi Baer, David Korda, Joseph Stefano, Connexion Films, Miramax Films