Yonkers Joe

Last updated
Yonkers Joe
Yonkersjoe-promoposter.jpg
Promotional poster for Yonkers Joe
Directed by Robert Celestino
Written byRobert Celestino
Produced byTrent Othick
John Gaughan
Phil Ivey
Matt Othick
Chazz Palminteri
StarringChazz Palminteri
Christine Lahti
Tom Guiry
Michael Lerner
Linus Roache
Cinematography Michael Fimognari
Edited by Gary Friedman
Jim Makiej
Music by Chris Hajian
Distributed by Magnolia Pictures
Release date
  • April 2008 (2008-04)(Tribeca Film Festival)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$8,286

Yonkers Joe is a 2008 American drama film directed by Robert Celestino and starring Chazz Palminteri, Christine Lahti, Tom Guiry, Michael Lerner, and Linus Roache. It debuted at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Contents

Plot

Joe (Palminteri) is a small-time con-man and dice-hustler who works with a group of men with similar interests. They shave cards and dice, doing small-time cons at card games and union picnics. He's in a long-term relationship with Janice (Lahti) and has a son with Down syndrome, Joe Jr. (Guiry).

Joe finds out that his son must leave his residential care facility due to age. Joe Jr. has difficulty controlling his anger. He uses profanity and gets into fights. Thus, the residential facility is hesitant to recommend him to the group home for adults and Joe must take his son home, at least for a few weeks. Joe has been looking to make a bigger score, and he begins to hope that such a score could enable him to get his son into the group home. Sure that he could not care for his son, he begins work putting together a scam in Vegas.

During this time, the film shows that Joe's crew are affectionate towards Joe Jr., often more so than Joe himself. Joe Jr. also strikes up a friendship with Janice. When Stanley (Lerner) finds some men who will front Joe and the crew the cash, plans are laid for a trip to Vegas in the hope of scoring big. Tensions remain between Joe and Joe Jr., but they all travel to Vegas to find a way to hustle the casinos. While in Vegas, Joe Jr. gives a gift to Janice at the hotel room and then tries to force himself on her sexually. Joe comes in and pulls him off. All three are visibly shaken and Joe Jr. runs out of the hotel. At Janice's request, Joe catches up with him and brings him back. She forgives Joe Jr., but it becomes clear to her that they cannot handle him alone without professional help.

While watching someone else roll the dice in Craps, Joe realizes that the cameras focus on the shooter. Using Joe Jr. as a partner, he demonstrates to Stanley and Janice that if he only rolls one die a partner across the table could drop a second weighted die in an almost unrecognizable move. Repeat the move and two weighted dice are on the table, enabling the crew to win big. Stanley originally agrees to drop the dice, but backs out because of fear that if he's caught he could lose his business. Joe Jr. offers to drop the dice and, after much reluctance, Joe agrees.

One by one they gather at a craps table in the casino. Joe Jr. comes up, drops the dice, but is asked to leave by a casino employee watching the table. As Joe Jr. walks out the door of the casino, the crew around the table begin to win with the weighted dice. Joe narrowly avoids being caught, and the crew succeeds in their score. However, after leaving the casino, Joe Jr. fails to show up at the meeting place. After a search, Joe finds Joe Jr. at a bus stop, ready to travel back to the residential facility. Joe Jr. explains that he has spoken to the manager and apologized for his past behavior. The facility has agreed to take Joe Jr. back until the group home is ready for him in six months. Joe at first resists, but eventually gives in and tearfully says goodbye to his son.

When returns to Janice he explains that Joe Jr. has "let him go."

Cast

Themes

Though the film begins as a straight con movie, the early introduction of Joe Jr. reveals that the movie is about more than an entertaining con. "The movie's not just a gambling movie,” said Palminteri. “It's about a guy whose son is 21 years old with Down syndrome and wants to come live with his father. And he really doesn't want his son there. His son redeems him and he redeems his son." [1]

Reception

Yonkers Joe has an overall approval rating of 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. [2]

Footnotes

  1. "nyl.com". Tribeca Film Festival 2008: "Yonkers Joe" Tells Story Of Con Man's Redemption. Retrieved August 10, 2009.
  2. "Rotten Tomatoes" . Retrieved 2010-09-05.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craps</span> Dice game

Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other or against a bank. Because it requires little equipment, "street craps" can be played in informal settings. While shooting craps, players may use slang terminology to place bets and actions.

<i>The Cooler</i> 2003 film by Wayne Kramer

The Cooler is a 2003 American crime drama film directed by Wayne Kramer, from a screenplay by Frank Hannah and Kramer. The film stars William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, Ron Livingston, Estella Warren, Paul Sorvino, and Alec Baldwin. It follows a casino "cooler" whose mere presence at the gambling tables usually results in a streak of bad luck for the other players.

<i>Down to Earth</i> (2001 film) 2001 American comedy film directed by Chris and Paul Weitz

Down to Earth is a 2001 American fantasy comedy film directed by Chris and Paul Weitz and written by Chris Rock, Lance Crouther, Ali LeRoi and Louis C.K. It is a remake of the 1978 film Heaven Can Wait, which is based on the 1938 stage play of the same name by Harry Segall. The film stars Chris Rock as Lance Barton, a comedian who is killed before his time on Earth is through. He is given another chance to continue his life, but in the body of a rich middle-aged white man.

<i>A Bronx Tale</i> 1993 film directed by Robert De Niro

A Bronx Tale is a 1993 American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name. It tells the coming-of-age story of an Italian-American boy, Calogero, who, after encountering a local Mafia boss, is torn between the temptations of organized crime and the values of his honest, hardworking father, as well as racial tensions in his community. The Broadway production was converted to film with limited changes, and starred Palminteri and De Niro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chazz Palminteri</span> American actor (born 1952)

Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri is an American actor. He is best known for his film roles in A Bronx Tale (1993), based on his play of the same name, Bullets Over Broadway (1994) for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and The Usual Suspects (1995), as well as his recurring role as Shorty in Modern Family (2010–2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benny Binion</span> American gambling icon and criminal (1904–1989)

Lester Ben Binion, better known as Benny Binion, was an American career criminal who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In 1931, Binion was convicted of shooting and killing a rum-runner, Frank Bolding. In the 1940s he relocated to Nevada, where gambling was legal, and opened the successful Binion's Horseshoe casino in downtown Las Vegas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Hotel and Casino</span> Hotel and casino in Nevada, United States

The California Hotel and Casino opened in 1975 at a cost of $10 million with a hotel and casino located in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada near the Fremont Street Experience, two years after a similar named Fremont Street casino, California Club was sold to the Golden Nugget. When it opened it had 325 rooms which has since been expanded to 781.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Scoblete</span> American author (born 1947)

Frank Scoblete is an American author who has written both under his own name and King Scobe about casino gambling. Referred to by The Washington Post as "a widely published authority on casino games," his books include Beat the Craps out of the Casinos, Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution, and Beat the One-Armed Bandits. He has written and appeared in television documentaries such as the "What Would You Do If ...?" program on The Travel Channel, written numerous columns for gambling magazines and websites, and produced a series of videotapes and DVDs, with most of his work being about the games of craps and blackjack.

John Ferguson, known by his pen name, Stanford Wong, is a gambling author best known for his book Professional Blackjack, first published in 1975. Wong's computer program "Blackjack Analyzer", initially created for personal use, was one of the first pieces of commercially available blackjack odds analyzing software. Wong has appeared on TV multiple times as a blackjack tournament contestant or as a gambling expert. He owns a publishing house, Pi Yee Press, which has published books by other gambling authors including King Yao.

<i>Poolhall Junkies</i> 2002 film

Poolhall Junkies is a 2002 comedy-drama thriller film co-written, starring and directed by Mars Callahan. It is the story of a pool hustler who is opposed by his former mentor, with a new prodigy, in a climactic big-stakes nine-ball match.

<i>In the Mix</i> (film) 2005 film by Ron Underwood

In the Mix is a 2005 American romantic crime comedy-drama film directed by Ron Underwood and starring Usher, Chazz Palminteri, and Emmanuelle Chriqui. It was released in the United States on November 23, 2005, by Lions Gate Films.

<i>Faithful</i> (1996 film) 1996 American film

Faithful is a 1996 American comedy crime drama film directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Cher, Chazz Palminteri and Ryan O'Neal. Palminteri wrote the screenplay, which is an adaptation of his stage play of the same name. Faithful tells the story of a woman, her husband and a hit man. The film was entered into the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. This is Mazursky's final theatrical film as director.

"Gonna Roll the Bones" is a fantasy novelette by American writer Fritz Leiber, in which a character plays craps with Death. First published in Harlan Ellison's Dangerous Visions, it won both the Hugo Award and Nebula Award for Best Novelette.

<i>Lansky</i> (1999 film) 1999 American TV series or program

Lansky is a 1999, American crime drama television film directed by John McNaughton and written by David Mamet, based in part on the 1979, biography Meyer Lansky: Mogul of the Mob by Uri Dan, Dennis Eisenberg, and Eli Landau. It stars Richard Dreyfuss as the famous gangster Meyer Lansky, Eric Roberts as Bugsy Siegel, and Ryan Merriman as the young Lansky. Illeana Douglas, Beverly D'Angelo, and Anthony LaPaglia also star. The film aired on HBO on February 27, 1999.

<i>The Dice Spelled Murder</i> Novel by Al Fray

The Dice Spelled Murder, by American novelist Al Fray, is an American crime novel published in 1957 by Dell Publishing Company, Inc. as a first edition paperback. The jacket notes to Fray's subsequent novel, Come Back for More, refer to The Dice Spelled Murder as a "best selling" novel.

<i>The Dames the Game</i> 1960 novel by Al Fray

The Dame's the Game is a crime novel by American novelist Al Fray. It was published in April 1960 as a Popular Library (paperback) Edition. The cover painting is by Harry Schaare.

Robert John Celestino is an American film producer, screenwriter, editor and film director. He is best known for his films such as Mr. Vincent and Yonkers Joe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casino security</span> Security staff and equipment at casinos

Casino security refers to the measures that are taken at casinos to protect the establishment's money, property and patrons. The security protects the casino and its customers from violent crime, theft, and other inappropriate behavior.

<i>Mighty Fine</i> 2012 film by Debbie Goodstein-Rosenfeld

Mighty Fine is a 2012 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Debbie Goodstein-Rosenfeld, starring Chazz Palminteri, Andie MacDowell, Jodelle Ferland, and Rainey Qualley. It was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on May 25, 2012, by Adopt Films.

<i>Once Upon a Time in Queens</i> 2013 American film

Once Upon a Time in Queens is a 2013 American post-mob film written and directed by David Rodriguez, starring Paul Sorvino, Michael Rapaport and Chazz Palminteri.