Such is the case with Amy Nicholson's "Zipper - Coney Island's Last Wild Ride." Being in Los Angeles most of the time, I knew nothing of the long battle between the city and developers over Coney Island. Truth be told, I never went there as a kid. When I finally ventured out to the boondocks of Brooklyn, I did so to see the Mets' minor league franchise, the Cyclones. A beautiful ballpark venue inches away from the ocean and the boardwalk. But as I looked around the surrounding area of rides and carnival attractions, I saw one overriding feature.
Decay.
Clearly, Coney Island had seen better days.
In "Zipper," Amy Nicholson clearly wants to demonstrate what those better days were. And she also attempts to put a human face on the plight that now envelops the area. She focuses her film on independent ride owner and operator Eddie Miranda. His ride is called the Zipper and, in a side note to all, I'd never go on it because you go upside down a lot. Amazingly, Eddie has a staff of about five people and they all keep the ride going.
Except there is greed all around. Meet Thor Equities head Joe Sitt, a guy who smiles all throughout the film and that makes him completely suspect in my book. Sitt is buying up all the land around Coney Island and plans to over-develop it with big box stores and condos. He tries to come off as your best friend, but you just know that there will be a knife in your back with his name on.
The independent folks working around Coney Island band together and look for help from New York City as the eviction notices start to come. Again, we have a bunch of politicians striving to be best buds with you. In reality, they, too, view the world through dollar signs. In the middle of it all is Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who I dislike even more with each passing day.
Amy Nicholson takes you through all the legal hearings and City Council meetings that revolve around this Coney Island fracas. At the same time, she dovetails that tail with Eddie Miranda's saga. He is desperately trying to keep the Zipper going and ultimately must decide to close it down. You watch with sadness as the ride is dismantled and packed up for its new owner, which turns out to be some carnival in Honduras.
You would think this would be an easy story to tell, but Nicholson seems to be totally unsure of her direction. She clearly sides with the plight of the poor independent amusement park owners. But, as you clearly see, they come off as a bunch of losers who want to stay rooted in the past. They show up at City Council meetings in outlandish costumes and, as a result, totally lack credibility. They are supposed to be the heroes but they are incredibly difficult to root for.
At the end, we learn that New York City overpays for the rites to Coney Island development and there are no winners. The taxpayers get screwed one more time and it's a prime example of government intervention once again coming to no good.
But, a slam dunk documentary comes out much less so. There always seems to be a piece of the puzzle missing and Nicholson herself might have realized this once we focused her humanistic angle on a crazy bunch of carnies. Even worse, most of her source material comes from news reports on NY1 or a public access talk show. Nicholson talks to all the right people. She just doesn't seem to talk to them enough.
I feel bad for what happened to Coney Island. Indeed, if developers and governments are smart, they can restore some luster to previously run-down city centers. I hear some areas of Brooklyn are thriving very nicely right now.
But it looks like Coney Island's better days are further down the line than we think. Nothing much has happened there since 2009 when the movie concludes.
And, frankly, as it is all depicted in "Zipper," nothing much happened before 2009 either. I just wish I had the whole story to form my own opinion.
LEN'S RATING: Two stars.
Dinner last night: Bacon bratburger.
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