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Movies / On DVD / Brooklyn Rules
Brooklyn Rules

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Brooklyn Rules (2007)

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Reviews Counted:38

Fresh:18

Rotten:20

Average Rating:5.5/10

Consensus: Brooklyn Rules’ premise is old hat now, but strong performances from Alec Baldwin and the supporting cast are reasons enough to watch.

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Written by three-time Emmy winner Terence Winter (The Sopranos), Brooklyn Rules is a powerful story of loyalty, friendship, and sacrifice. Set in Brooklyn circa 1985 against the backdrop of John... Written by three-time Emmy winner Terence Winter (The Sopranos), Brooklyn Rules is a powerful story of loyalty, friendship, and sacrifice. Set in Brooklyn circa 1985 against the backdrop of John Gotti's rise to power, the film revolves around three lifelong friends whose different ambitions threaten to shake their enduring bond. Michael (FREDDIE PRINZE JR.), the narrator, is a lovable charmer with the soul of a con man who successfully scams his way into the pre-law program at Columbia University. In contrast to Michael's desire to leave the Brooklyn streets behind, his close friend Carmine (SCOTT CAAN), a handsome lady-killer enamored by the Mafia lifestyle, wants nothing more than to stay there. Rounding out the trio is Bobby (Entourage's JERRY FERRARA), an endearing cheapskate who longs for a simple life of working at the Post Office and settling down with his fiancée. While at Columbia, Michael falls for a beautiful young student named Ellen (MENA SUVARI), a society girl whom he initially wins over with his preppy schoolboy cover. As their relationship blossoms, leaving the streets behind seems increasingly possible, but when Carmine catches the eye of Caesar (ALEC BALDWIN), a feared mobster who controls their Brooklyn neighborhood, Michael and Bobby are drawn into that world despite their reluctance to get involved. Brooklyn Rules comes down to the choices faced by three young men when the right path is not always the easiest to follow, and when being a loyal friend can mean making the ultimate sacrifice. --© City Lights Pictures [More]

Starring: Alec Baldwin, Freddie Prinze, Scott Caan, Jerry Ferrara

Starring: Alec Baldwin, Freddie Prinze, Scott Caan, Jerry Ferrara, Mena Suvari, Daniel Tay, Ty Reed, Paulo Araujo

Director: Michael Corrente

Director: Michael Corrente
Screenwriter: Terence Winter
Producer: Michael Corrente, Richard B. Lewis, Marisa Polvino
Composer: Benny Rietveld
Studio: City Lights Pictures

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Reviews for Brooklyn Rules

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Should you see this '80s mafia drama? Fugeddaboudit.

Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com | comment Comment
08/22/08
Heather Huntington
Heather Huntington
ReelzChannel.com

Top cast delivers terrific characterisations, with all three leads showing deep talents, as does Mena Suvari in a small and thankless but important role.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
02/21/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

a fuzzy film sporting more bad Brooklyn accents and mob-movie cliches than Knockaround Guys which, all things considered, is hard to do.

Full Review Source: Manhattan Movie Magazine | comment Comment
12/18/07
Marlow Stern
Marlow Stern
Manhattan Movie Magazine

A sometimes funny, occasionally maudlin coming-of-age dramedy that wants to be Goodfellas but might have been called Mild in the Streets.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/22/07
John Anderson
John Anderson
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Aggressively derivative.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
09/22/07
Melissa Anderson
Melissa Anderson
Time Out New York

However authentic and heartfelt this film’s depiction of life on the meaner streets of the Northeast corridor may be, it doesn’t begin to match The Sopranos' epic vision of violence, class struggle and upward mobility in a barbarous culture.

comment Comment
09/22/07
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Whether it's read as an exclamation of borough pride or as a set of unwritten laws governing its residents, the movie takes a well-trodden path in chronicling the lives of three Italian American friends, circa 1985.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/20/07
Kevin Crust
Kevin Crust
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If we were playing by mob rules, this movie would get the 'slicer' treatment for trying to impersonate a Scorsese picture.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
08/03/07
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Absolutely nothing to recommend the film as anything other than a sagging collection of predictable clichés and brain-numbing boredom.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
08/01/07
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
N/R

Brooklyn Rules doesn't exactly rule, but fans of the cast will find much to enjoy.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
07/13/07
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

Capturing Manhattan's essence is easy. But capturing life inside provincial New York City -- is something that eludes most filmmakers...And now add Brooklyn Rules to the short list of movies that get it right.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
07/13/07
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle

Against all odds, it remains surprisingly watchable.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/13/07
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

...Winter's coming-of-age-in-the-1980s saga is content to rewalk the same mean streets, never ducking into one alley or back room we haven't visited.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
07/13/07
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press

Singularly unoriginal, full of clichés and tough-neighborhood set pieces tied together with GoodFellas-style voice-over narration.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
07/12/07
Cathy Jakicic
Cathy Jakicic
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Brooklyn Rules is a watchable flick but it's also tired and derivative, which is a shame given the talent involved.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
06/22/07
Brian Linder
Brian Linder
IGN Movies

Ah, the nostalgic mob drama. No matter the brutality, the blood, or the sheer fear that shape the memory, movies and TV tend to make life in the mob a growth experience.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
05/30/07
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Years after Federal Hill (1994), director Michael Corrente is still doing low-budget Mean Streets knockoffs.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
05/30/07
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

Although yet another set-in-the-80's coming of age film, it's a familiar but affecting story.

Full Review Source: Maxim | comment Comment
05/21/07
Pete Hammond
Pete Hammond
Maxim

It all remains as charming and likable as the mutt that Bobby adopts, and the genuine New York locations sure beat Toronto.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
05/21/07
Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece
Film Journal International

Brooklyn Rules has enough heart and personality to freshen what could easily be construed as stale cannoli.

Full Review Source: Reeler | comment Comment
05/19/07
Michelle Orange
Michelle Orange
Reeler
 
 
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Latest News for Brooklyn Rules

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