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Lackawanna Blues (2005)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.2/10
Reviews Counted: 7
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 2

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 0

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Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 4,317

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Movie Info

A young boy grows up among a makeshift family of oddballs and dreamers in this adaptation of Ruben Santiago-Hudson's acclaimed one-man show. Ruben Junior (Marcus Carl Franklin) is a young boy who was born in the late '40s into a family that started crumbling not long after he was born. Ruben Junior's parents were from Lackawanna, a city in Upstate New York, and were living in a rooming house run by Nanny Crosby (S. Epatha Merkerson), whose place was a hub for the local African-American

Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.

Drama, Television, Musical & Performing Arts

Directed By: George C Wolfe

In Theaters: Jan 26, 2005 Wide

On DVD: Aug 23, 2005

Cast

S. Epatha Merkerson
Rachel 'Nanny' Crosby
Julie Benz
Laura
Robert A. Bradley
Otis McClanahan
Thomas Jefferson Byrd
Numb Finger Pete
Kathleen Chalfant
Mrs. Carmichael
Carmen Ejogo
Alean
Marcus Carl Franklin
Ruben Santiago Jr. (as ...
Louis Gossett Jr
Old Lem Taylor
Macy Gray
Pauline
Hill Harper
Ruben Santiago Jr. (as ...
Barry Shabaka Henley
Shakey Winfield
Terrence Howard
Bill Crosby
Ernie Hudson
Dick Barrymore
Delroy Lindo
Mr. Lucious
Mos Def
The Bandleader
Lou Myers
Ol' Po' Carl
Rosie Perez
Bertha
Adina Porter
Ricky
Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Freddie Cobbs
Liev Schreiber
Ulyses Fold
Henry Simmons
Jesse
Jimmy Smits
Ruben Santiago Sr.
Patricia Wettig
Laura's Mom
Michael Kenneth Williams
Jimmy Lee
Saul Williams
Sweet Tooth Sam
Charlayne Woodard
Miss Jadie
Jeffrey Wright
Small Paul

Critic Reviews for Lackawanna Blues

All Critics (9) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (2) | DVD (6)

It's a wonderful lead performance.

January 31, 2005 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper

| Comment

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Top Critic

Everyone's efforts were sadly wasted.

August 26, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat

| Comment (1)

Phil Hall

Film Threat

Lackawanna Blues manages to capture not just the feel of an era, but the unbridled and exuberant spirit of a people and place as well.

August 23, 2005 Comment

James Plath

Movie Metropolis

Bursting at the seams with talented performers, no one misses a beat, conjuring up an atmosphere so vivid, you can taste it.

February 19, 2005 Full Review Source: Eye for Film

| Comment

Amber Wilkinson

Eye for Film

An invigorating movie full of sexual energy.

February 11, 2005 Full Review Source: Compuserve

| Comment

Harvey S. Karten

Compuserve

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Lackawanna Blues

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"Lackawanna Blues" is based on the autobiographical play by Ruben Santiago-Hudson about his experiences growing up an unorthodox childhood in a rooming house owned and ran by Rachel "Nanny" Crosby(S. Epatha Merkerson) in the fifties and sixties in a largely minority neighborhood in Lackawanna, New York. After Ruben's

August 5, 2006

Walter M.

Super Reviewer

This movie has a lot of heart and makes me wish I had a "Nanny"!

October 9, 2010

Sarah Prisbylla

Super Reviewer

Lackawanna Blues Quotes

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1. Rachel 'Nanny' Crosby: But you can't hurt me no more. I'm numb. Sometimes I look at you, don't even see you. You touch me and I don't feel you. But I can smell you and I know I'm alive. That stench ain't just some other woman's cheap perfume, it's your soul, Bill. Your rotten soul!
– Submitted by Facebook U (9 months ago)

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