Danny Aiello heads up yet another East Coast Italian-American family that has trouble with the mob in this true-life comedy about the winner of New York's first lottery back in 1976.
Imagine, nostalgia for the '70s.
Aiello is funny and blustery as the father, Frank Pesce Sr., who has been unlucky all his life, though he has tried many schemes to make that big score — not unlike "The Honeymooners' " Ralph Kramden.
But the lead role, of Frank Pesce Jr., goes to Anthony LaPaglia, who is very good as the layabout member of the family who skates through life with no small amount of good fortune.
The story is told as a flashback after Frank Jr. wins $6 million in the lottery. Upon winning, he goes on a tirade, cursing God and breaking windows in the local church. The police pick him up, and the desk sergeant (Robert Forster) wants to know why a guy who has just won so much money is so angry.
So, he tells his story.
The first half of the film is a series of vignettes that demonstrate just how lucky Frank Jr. has been, and how his family — and especially his father — tends to resent it, especially since he shows such an amazing lack of ambition.
Eventually, we get into what the film is really about, as Frank Jr. avoids New York's first lottery, while his father buys tons of tickets. When Frank Jr. does finally buy a ticket, it's under duress. And local mobsters figure into the story in a semi-comic way.
The supporting cast here, including Lainie Kazan as the mother and the real-life Frank Pesce playing the role of his own brother, is lively and appealing. And there are quite a few touches that are amusing, as when Frank Sr. plants Kentucky bluegrass for his small patch of lawn in Queens, and his penchant for making bad pizza.
But first-time director George Gallo, who also wrote the script (as he did for "Wise Guys" and "Midnight Run"), settles for too many little moments and a few that are simply too weak. Soon the film resembles a foul-mouthed sitcom without any real dramatic thrust carrying the film from beginning to end.
Rated R for considerable profanity and a couple of moments of violence, "29th Street" has enough enjoyable, if slight moments to make it worth a look if you're in the mood.