and I cannot believe it didn't get more behind it as far as advertising prior to it's release. When I auditioned for the part; we were told that the movie would most likely be an Oscar nominee. It should have been; because it is excellent. Truly excellent. It is a great story and looking at it now; it feels a lot like The Sopranos. In fact Tony Sirico of The Sopranos was in it.When we were filming in Charlotte; I never knew how much of a real story was in this movie. If you've ever filmed a scene for a movie; you know how much tunnel vision you really have. I didn't really understand it until I saw it almost a year later.My part was of a lottery "finalist" in the movie at "Madison Square Garden". Properly played by the "historic" Charlotte Coliseum. Now..the Independence Arena.I was there for 25 hours straight and I can't say I enjoyed it at the time. The local TV news interviewed me on air live (a major film in Charlotte was a big deal then) and I looked like a 70's reject with no sleep. I wasn't far from being that in reality! Although looking back; I am proud to say I was in this film.Please see it if you have not and you will be better for it.

29th Street is a cult hit and one of the most underrated films of all time. It is the touching story about a nice Italian guy who is at the same time blessed and cursed with good fortune. The acting in this film is 1st rate. Everyone nails their role down. Danny Aiello, Robert Forster, Lani Kazan are magnificent, but the actor who steals the show is Anthony LaPaglia. The film combines Old School Italian-American humor with traces of mob genre films to tell the story about the 1st ever New York State Lottery winner in 1976 Frank Pesce(LaPaglia). The script is 1st rate, George Gallo's directing is excellent, the music is perfect for the film. Pay attention to the scene when Frank and his pals go to the draft physical in order to apply to the Vietnam war. IT IS SO FUNNY!!This is the type of film that you can watch over and over again. My buddies and I continuously quote this film. Enjoy and you will feel a lump in your throat @ the end of the film.

Well here it is Christmas Day and I was just flipping through the channels. We don't have cable, so there wasn't much to choose from. I happened to stop on the end of a showing of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and by chance I decided to see the next movie that was showing-29th STREET. This is a great movie, 10 out of 10. I have to say that first of all. I'm assuming this isn't the most well known of movies because it's not something I've ever heard of. I recommend it though. Despite some rough language (which was edited out of the tv viewing I got to see), it is a great family film. Did you like MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING? This film manages to capture that same ethnic family feeling, though in this film it is Italian, not Greek. The family, with Danny Aiello as the father, is charming in all it's quirkiness. I laughed a lot at the subtle humor that came out of the daily lives of the Pesce family.The acting in the film is terrific. The characters are well developed in the writing and the actors used this to the fullest in bringing them to life. I was amazed to see that Frank Pesce actually plays in the movie in a fairly large role as the brother Vito. He does a good job. Anthony LaPaglia is excellent too. You'd think he'd really grown up in NYC with that accent of his.If you happen to catch this on tv or see it at a movie rental place, don't pass it up. The story is simple-the world's luckiest man as he grows up. The ending runs high with emotion as you come to see the results of the decisions that this lucky man and his family makes. In the end though, it's a great holiday film, showing the true love that families have. It's great to see men (fathers) with lots of love and emotion for their families!Check this out :D

This picture hit the hard luck family right on the nose. A hardworking family with age old values struggles with life while one floats along with an odd sort of luck. you can see the frustration between a focused father and a happy go lucky dreamer son as he bounces from dead end jobs to affiliating with the seedy underworld mob types. Good laughs and near misses in tragedy fuel this well developed plot. The ending is unbelievable and will leave you with a warm feeling in your heart. you will believe that anyone can triumph no matter how bad the situation is.