This day-in-the-life of a Brooklyn diner (a neighborhood institution) sets for itself the noble goal of "challenging" conventional assumptions about race, ethnicity, gender, age, and religion, when the Jewish owner suddenly announces to his multiracial, multigenerational staff that he's selling the place to condo developers who are gentrifying the neighborhood. From students earning a few bucks before school starts to servers who've been waiting tables for 20 years, they all spend the workday dealing with the upheaval and betrayal. While the cast is attractive and talented, the proceedings are really rather dull: the only truly "interesting" aspect of the movie is the "insight," for which the film smugly pats itself on the back, that--surprise!--those who are not white or wealthy or youthful might nevertheless be human beings too. It's a dim view that writer/director Jim McKay must hold of his intended audience, if he honestly believes them to be such raging bigots that this comes as a newsflash. And we're in even worse shape as a society than I imagined if this point on its own is enough to make a movie praiseworthy. Grudgingly, this is recommended, but more for its aims than in how it attempts to achieve them. [Note: DVD extras include an audio commentary with McKay and executive producer Nelson George, as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette. Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for a well-meaning if forced “message” film.] (M. Johanson)
Everyday People
HBO, 90 min., not rated, VHS: $40.98, DVD: $26.98 Volume 20, Issue 2
Everyday People
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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