West End (2014)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Just perfect...

Fresh and Exciting

Admirable film.

I jumped a the chance to pre order on iTunes and we watched it on a Saturday morning..... Eric Roberts is stellar as ALWAYs, and seeing the shiny bald head of the gorgeous Father Mike, was a particular thrill. Fantastic Jersey Shore locations left my belly yearning for Windmill's cheese fries, and a stroll on the boardwalk for and a lemon Italian ice! Watch it! Enjoy it! ****** to address the "offensive racial undertones" mentioned in previous review: why stop there? Why not mention how offensive the language used about women? How about the offensive language toward the Irish? Or the stereotype of the Italians? Having lived on the Jersey Shore, I will attest to the authenticity of the offensive vernacular used. New Jersey is just basically an all around offensive place. I was offended on a daily basis. To change that aspect, and clean up the dialog to be "unoffensive" would make it completely unauthentic.

This movies have racial undertones that are offensive to African Americans and other people of color, in general. It was horrible to see how the only African American in the film was portrayed and how a certain character only wanted to deal with him if was a "drug dealer". And I've also seen enough Mafia type movies, nothing new, nothing changed. It left several questions unanswered. The main character started off as a lawyer and by the end of the movie he was an F.B.I agent. How and when did this happen. Just was all over the place. It was horrible. It had some good actors who wasted their time. This one should be scrapped and never done again. The woman who played the mother couldn't stop posing for the camera and smiling during her scenes, when smiles were never really called for it was so obvious she wanted to look good for the camera. I was just really disappointed with this film. It as truly a disappointment and I would pay a penny to see it at a theater.

First off, I'd like to begin by saying I support the Jersey Shore, and I want to see homegrown movies from the area succeed. But this movie is a waste of time.The initial setup is promising. You've got Eric Roberts, playing a partially reformed mobster who has just been released from prison. Seems he was pinched after taking the fall for his brother's mob work.Now that he's a kinder, gentler mobster, he only gently shakes down a local club owner for protection money (only 10%), and lets the guy continue to operate a once-a-week "teen night," which is presumably not the best way to make a buck. Eric Robert's brother is not happy about these developments. He is furious about "teen night!?!?! TEEN NIGHT!?!" and wants more money from the club owner. Or some sh#t like that.So then Eric Roberts talks about wanting to move to Florida, quit the mobster game, etc. His wife does not seem that supportive. They talk about how their son Vic is down in Florida, busy not speaking to either of them.And that's pretty much it for Eric Roberts. He goes to collect his 10% from the club owner, and he's shot by an unknown assailant. (unknown by only the most clueless people in the audience).Vic, the son, comes home for the funeral, something everyone seems shocked by. His high school sweetheart has married his sociopathic former best friend, his mom is getting sexy with his uncle, his other friend is now a priest. It's all pretty boilerplate coming home from a long absence type of stuff. None of it really original.As a Jersey Shore native, the best parts were the visit to Windmill and the brief mention of The Inkwell. I highly recommend both dining experiences.Then there's a pretty ridiculous scene where the high school sweetheart greets Vic at the door and mentions that her husband is in the shower. They catch up a bit, get close, start having sex... and the fact that the husband is still in the shower doesn't ever seem to come into play during the very long scene. It's almost as if... no, it is exactly like, the screenwriter forgot that he'd put the husband in the shower, instead of out of the house. Otherwise, it's the longest freaking shower in cinematic history.The movie starts to really fall apart from there. Lots of faulty logic, continuity errors. Mob movie clichés. West End barely resembles the actual West End, it's more like a weird conglomeration of far apart Jersey Shore towns. Vic turns out to be some sort of FBI agent/informant/... well, its never really clear what he is. And then there's some stuff about Eric Roberts being whacked because he was wearing a wire to bring down his brother, which doesn't really make much sense when you go back to the beginning of the movie.I will say though, that there are a lot of guys in this film that look as if they actually are in the mob. So... I really hope they can take a critique and not kill me for this.I write this review because it won the "Pick of the Flicks" award at the Garden State Film Festival... something it only won because the filmmakers are excellent promoters and brought out a large, supportive crowd--mostly family and friends of those involved with the movie.