Five minutes into this manipulative, often cloying tearjerker, I gave up and went to get my box of Kleenex: if Al Pacino was going to play a dying grandfather, I knew he was going to be good enough to break my heart and I might as well not drip tears on the armchair. Set in Brooklyn during the Depression, the story follows a day in the life of a young boy (Jerry Barone) who desperately wants to earn a quarter in order to go to the opening of a new movie palace. As the boy struggles to get two bits, he keeps returning to the side of his dying grandfather throughout the day. Although we know the outcome from the get, two things make Two Bits worthwhile: Al Pacino and the film's honesty about a child who really wants something and can only see the present. Flawed, but recommended.
Two Bits
(Miramax, 84 min., PG-13, avail. July 23) Vol. 11, Issue 4
Two Bits
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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