Polish Bar is the story of a good guy, his intent to make bad choices, and the consequences that arise from such choices.
Reuben Horowitz is a busy young man. During the day he’s selling jewelry at his uncle’s store, while at night he hones his record spinning skills at a seedy strip club in hopes of taking his DJ career to the next level. Yet those two jobs alone don’t bring in enough income to keep him content, which is why he also deals drugs.
Ah yes, yet another urban-setting-coming-of-age tale featuring comeuppance consequences handed out to the person who has made the decision to take the get-rich-fast path in life. The difference this time out… he’s Jewish, whether he likes it or not.
Before I focus on what I didn’t like about this film, I will state that I have to give the film credit in its efforts to try to make a clichéd coming-of-age story not so cliché. The film takes its time to delve into some of the other characters and give them more depth, mainly Reuben’s partners in crime. There’s Ebony, a stripper who also sells drugs in order to support her and her brother, and Tommy, a closeted homosexual prone to fits of violence whenever confronted with his true nature.
The film takes time to add color to both of these characters only to leave them out to dry. I appreciate the effort in trying to make the film more dynamic, but if you can’t finish what you started and are going to cut off the characters mid-arc, then what’s the point of even taking the time to develop them in the first place? You, meaning the director and writer (Ben Berkowitz & Ben Redgrave,) might as well just turn these characters into charactertures from the get go and focus the extra running time on Reuben and his family as they try to hang on to and embrace their Jewish identity: the real heart of the film.
Aside from overly developed characters who go nowhere, Polish Bar at least benefits from some solid acting. Both Richard Belzer and Judd Hirsch have small roles, but take command of the scenes appropriately. And as far as the lead played by Vincent Piazza and his two co-horts Golden Brooks as the stripper, and James Badge Dale as the Polish closeted homosexual are concerned, they too command their scenes excellently. Oh yeah, almost forgot, there’s Meat Loaf to boot. I’m still not sure why I enjoy seeing Meat Loaf act, but I just do. I don’t think he’s a great actor, but for some reason he’s fun to watch act.
Polish Bar may not be the greatest of coming-of-age film, but it is entertaining enough to never lose my interest. It’s one of those films where I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch again, but somehow don’t feel it was a waste of time to see.
Showtimes for Polish Bar:
Sat, Jul 23 – 9:15pm (Castro)
Sat, Jul 30 – 9:30pm (Roda – Berkeley)
Tue, Aug 2 – 8:45pm (Oshman – Palo Alto)
Sat, Aug 6 – 8:55pm (Rafael – San Rafael)
