Yonkers Joe Reviews

Mostly strong, that is, with the major exception of Tom Guiry's portrayal of Joe Jr. Painfully broad, Guiry practically sinks the film with garishly slack-jawed and over-the-top manchildishness.

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It's far from a natural, but somehow, some way, it makes its point.

Full Review | Original Score: B-

Celestino's bid to wrap everything up in tidy fashion feels at odds with the grittiness of the film's first two-thirds, but in the end, the movie's glimpse into a seldom-seen slice of life sticks with you.

Full Review | Original Score: C+

Palminteri helps the film earn very slight passing marks, if only mostly because it's interesting to see these old operators have to adapt their schemes for new times.

Full Review | Original Score: C+

A very well-made and well-acted film, with a very touching story about fathers, sons, and the difficulties of raising special needs kids.

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The parts of Yonkers Joe that have to do with gambling are fun; unfortunately, they make up only half the movie.

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The typecast actor breaks out of his comfort zone.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4

As Janice, Christine Lahti is the pivot between father and son. The scenes between Janice and Joe Jr. are sweet, harrowing, movie-altering.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

Yonkers Joe is incoherent, succeeding neither as an exciting gambling ride nor a touching family story.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4

Yonkers Joe is like a so-so trip to Vegas, one where you lose as much as you gain gambling. In other words, it's not the trip you're most likely to tell your friends about.

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An extremely awkward cross between Ocean's Eleven and Rain Man.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4

A nicely photographed, mostly satisfying look at a gang of East Coast sharps and how they part marks from their money.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

[Director] Celestino steers clear of the can't-miss pulp thriller that Yonkers Joe could've been, and goes for broke by giving it big dollop of schmaltz. His horse doesn't come in, but it runs a respectable race.

Full Review | Original Score: B-

Heartfelt, well-acted but overly sincere drama of a smalltime hustler and the 20-year-old Down's syndrome son he's barely known.

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For all its attention to detail, Yonkers Joe isn't half as tough as it pretends to be. The real story of these bottom-feeders and the sad young man they exploit is a lot uglier than the movie even begins to let on.

| Original Score: 2.5/5

If you can watch Yonkers Joe without thinking it's a mild Rain Man rip-off, you'll enjoy a film that could have been plagued with plot issues, but rises above it

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Whatever atmosphere [director] Celestino milks from the seedy world of late-night poker games and whiskey-soaked mornings after is leached away once Tom Guiry's pantomime idiot savant shows up.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/6

Lahti burns through a thinly written role with a surprising level of warmth and humanity, and Guiry is at times repellently convincing as a kid genetically incapable of either nuance or fakery.

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There's great potential to be a classic Vegas indie drama ala Swingers or The Cooler though it's only 60% its way to getting there.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10

Yonkers Joe confirms that writer-director Robert Celestin knows his way around a local cash-stakes game of craps. It also proves, unfortunately, that his scripting skills need substantial honing.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4