Sunnyside(1979)

Directed by Timothy Galfas(Bogard(1974), Lord of the Ring(1978))

Starring Joey Travolta( Hollywood Vice Squad(1986), Amazon Women on the Moon(1987)), Stacey Pickren( The Border(1982), Flashdance(1983)) and Andrew Rubin( Police Academy(1984))



Sunnyside, Queens is one of the few NYC neighborhoods, outside of Brooklyn, I would probably live in. That is, of course, if I wasn't financially strapped to Bushwick for FSM knows how long. Unlike most of the fauxhemian Brooklyn snobs, like myself, who make up a great portion of the outlander population flooding northern BK, I have no qualms with living outside of the cool zone. My girl's sister lives there, so I have a plenty of time to explore the nabe on my own. It has so many more amenities than Bushwick for one, the melting pot is so large that the local cuisine is so much more diversified than any hood in Hipsterville. Cheaper rents, safety, yada-yada...I could probably go on for quite some time. Truth be told, if I'm not staying in Bushwick or moving out to the Northwest in the next year, I'll probably end up in Sunnyside.

Sunnyside(1979) also happens to be the name, as well as the setting, of the 70's street gang movie I watched this morning, starring one Joey Stallone. Stallone plays Nicky, leader of the Nightcrawlers, one of three of the biggest gangs in Sunnyside. Unlike the other gangs, Nick's boys are more community organizers than career criminal. Sure they involve themselves in illegal activity, but nobody seems to get hurt but rival gangs. Nick happens to get fed up with the carny folk coming into his hood and ripping off the community so he plans on robbing them blind to teach a lesson. Unfortunately, the Nightcrawlers can't do it on their own, so they arrange a summit with the 2 other rival gangs to discuss a large group activity. Three rival gangs working together, what can possibly go wrong? Well, Nicky's bright idea ends up killing three, two being leadership of an opposing gang, all thanks to our friendly neighborhood, coked-out sociopath, Eddie Reaper. Now that Sunnyside is down a street gang, Reaper wants to make sure he can eliminate all the competition, especially the Nightcrawlers.

New York City is probably my favorite setting for genre films from 70's, bar none. There is just something about the grittiness of both the backdrop and the characters that you will find in no other city setting during this era of American film. I know it's been said time and time again, but NYC circa 70's is just a backdrop, it's actually a character. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten the same kick out of Sunnyside if it was filmed in LA or Detroit. There is just something about the Best City in the World that automatically adds points to any film I watch, an example being Joe's Apartment(pure garbage).

It was also nice to see that the movie was actually filmed on location in Sunnyside and not in Jersey City or Brooklyn(see Bronx Warrior). There is just something about seeing that Greenpoint Avenue sign that got me excited. Being a 32 year old movie, the street signs were the most recognizable things. If I ever watch it again, I will be sure that it's with someone who actually grew up in the area so I can get a better idea of the filming locations.

As I said before, I probably wouldn't have liked this film as much if NYC wasn't the setting. It wasn't a bad movie per se, but you can tell that this was a start out role for most of the actors. It was also a bit too serious for my taste. I like my street gang movies to be quite a bit less believable, Like the Warriors or Class of 1984. The trashier and more ridiculous the better.

For those of you who love 70's films set in NYC, or are actually born and raised in the Big Apple, this is something you might want to check out. For those of you who know nothing of the gritty character of 70's New York, you're probably not going to enjoy it as much.

In the Parking Lot After School with 3:15(1986)

Whenever a movie has gangs of punk rockers, me taking the time to watch it is a sure thing. Since the first time I first sat down and watched Return of the Living Dead in the 80's, there has always been something about mohawks and chains that will draw me to a movie. Punkers in shitty 80's movies were about as common as the "white kid dance" aka The Molly Ringwald. Most 80's films aimed at teenagers typically had a variation of one or the other, sometimes both. From Valley Girl to Suburbia, no matter how shitty it is, if I see it has punk rockers I will take the time to watch it.

Such is the case with 3:15(1986), a film I ran across about a month back and finally got to sit down and watch. When I first read the description, all I could think of was a cross between Class of 1984 and 3 O'Clock High with roving gangs of punk rockers. I typically think to myself that I've seen enough of these movies in my lifetime to pretty much guess the plot without watching the movie. Even if the acting and plot sucked, at least it had punks and a post-apocalyptic feel. No matter what the outcome I would probably enjoy it.

3:15 is the story of the notorious street gang the Cobras, and the traitor who would fall out of favor with them, Jeff Hannah. After a rival gang member gets brutalized during a turf skirmish, Jeff decides that the thug life is not for him and hangs up his colors forever. The Cobra's president, Cinco, is non too happy about Jeff's decision, and tell's him so.

Fast-forward one year. Jeff has kept to his word and left the gang life behind. These days he is an all-star basketball player with a knack for school work and popular blonde for a girlfriend.Everything in Jeff's life would be Heaven if it wasn't for the huge gang problem the school has. There is not an inch of the school that isn't covered in tags, and the Cobras only reason for attending class is to make dollars through the dealing of drugs, namely marijuana, which according to Principal Horner is "turning students into zombies". So the local law enforcement have been working with Principal Horner to stage middle-of-class raid on the Cobras. During the raid, Cinco manages to elude the cops for a few minutes by running around the school looking for a place to stash his product. The cops are at foot by the time he reaches the locker room, and he needs to make a quick drop, so he passes the stash off to Jeff, who wants nothing to do with it. As Jeff tosses the contraband back in Cinco's face, the fuzz arrive and nab the notorious leader for possession. As he is being carted away by the boys in blue, Cinco is sure to let the school know that Jeff has wronged him, and vengeance will be sought upon his release from the Big House. Before you know it, 3:15 is the new High Noon.

I did derive enjoyment from watching 3:15, but it was a bit more 3 O'Clock High Than Class of 1984. The latter being more of what the director was aiming for. There were punkers, but there was nothing post-apocalyptic or gangster about them. Most of the mohawks were seen at a local hang-out, not in the Cobras. Slightly disappointing, but ever so slight. Even though the flick lacked terminator teachers and futuristic drug addiction, there was more switchblade action than a room full of greasers. In fact, any sort of violence in 3:15 usually concerned a switchblade, with the exception of a dinky, little .22 that Cinco used to regulate towards the end of the film. Since the fight choreography was so bad, I wouldn't have mind seeing a little bit of nunchuck to widen the array of weapons used. Nunchuck action at least would have made the movie slightly more recommendable. Other than that a being second rate Class of 1984 and loading it with switchblades, 3:15 doesn't really have much going for those of you who aren't die hard about there cinematic trash. Unless of course an early cameo by Gina Gershon as a Cobrette floats your boat, which it might.