Years later, I am pleased to say that I am pleasantly surprised how good a writer and director Ray Romano shows he can be in his directorial debut with "Somewhere in Queens." And the work is even more remarkable because the movie is not really a comedy.
Oh, sure, it's once again an Italian New York family that argues a lot. They all work together (father, sons, grandsons) in a construction company and that's never harmonious. Ray plays Leo who is looking for a better life for his only child Sticks who plays high school basketball. The always welcome Laurie Metcalf plays Leo's wife and she has her own layers of the onion to pull back. But it is clear they both want their son to be happy.
And he is...for a while. He's got a college scout looking to recruit him with a scholarship. To make things even better, the kid has a hot girlfriend. Queens never looked this good.
Except when the girlfriend dumps the boy, he spirals into sadness and stops performing on the court. To give his son a chance, Leo pleads with the girl to date the boy for just a little while longer.
Now that may sound like a cheesy sitcom plot and it is a bit cringeworthy. But somehow this deception works for a while. You know it's going to come apart in Act 3 but the glory is watching how Romano manipulates the story in that direction.
The key here is, like the TV Barones, Ray Romano knows the people he is writing directing. He clearly has an intuitive ear for dialogue and, while not packed with solid laughs as you might expect, Romano tells a wonderful story of drama and sadness.
I am a fan all over again. If Ray wants to keep working like this, I can't argue with the success.
LEN'S RATING: Four stars.
Dinner last night: The last of the pre-surgery lasagna.
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