In New Jersey three friends are out of work and out of prospects for improvement. Their first attempt at crime fails when they break into a bakery they mistake for the back of a jewellers shop. Russell's brother in law is a cop who knows that he is up to no good, however Russell still wants the trio to do one reasonable job to help them onto their feet. The next step is the robbery of an armoured car. However, are they bad at being bad or just to good to be bad.There have been quite a few films that make comedy of inept criminals, however this film is more than that. Rather than being figures of fun, these are good people without much hope who resort to crime in rather amateur way, for example to help plan their job they hire a 1950's crime thriller called `Armoured Car Robbery' from the video store. There are no pratfalls or physical humour but instead gentle stuff that is amusing.The title comes from the line in On The Waterfront in which Marlon Brando bemoans his failure as a fighter as a `one-way ticket to Palookaville' or being a loser. The three men of the title are losers, but they are good, likeable people in difficult situations. Happily the film allows us into their lives so that they are not just `inept criminals' caricatures. The dialogue is involving but also snappy and witty. The strong cast help this enormously. Gallo is really good in the lead and the actual moment when he realises that he may be in a tough spot but he is not a bad person is really quite touching. Forsythe is good and wears his sensitive side well on his sleeve. Trese has the most difficult character – the danger would be he becomes the `drama' side of the film, but he handles it well with good support from his on-screen wife Hamilton. The support cast of family and lovers all are really believable characters, although the film really belongs to the lead three.Overall I suspect many will find this slight and not as funny as they expected. However I found it a well written (sharp yet real dialogue) with respect for it's characters – finding humour in their situations and approach rather than making them comedy characters. Add this to some well pitched performances and it makes for a film that does what it sets out to do and does it better than many of it's ilk.

Basically this is one of the finest films I saw the year it came out. American indie comedy/character cinema at its best. The trouser sniffing scene almost got me ejected from the cinema for laughing too loudly. This movie is an absolute triumph. Around the same time I caught 'Big Night', 'The Daytrippers' & 'Buffalo 66' - all great films. If you liked any of them you'll love 'Palookaville'.

For reasons which, to me anyway, are completely unfair, every heist movie released since 1992's RESEVOIR DOGS has been compared to that film. I agree that film was great, and obviously there have been rip-offs, but not every heist film is, and PALOOKAVILLE, a wonderful surprise, is an example. In fact, if there's any film this should be compared to, it's the 1950's Italian movie BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET. Like that film, this is not about hardened criminals planning a heist, but about ordinary guys who try to be criminals while juggling their lives(one is married and has a kid, one takes care of his dogs, and even the third, who's more of the criminal mind than his friends, is dreaming of going with his girlfriend to California). It's also like BOTTLE ROCKET, which is also about inexperienced thieves, but where those guys, for the most part, want to be criminals, these guys just see it as an escape. But director Alan Taylor and writer David Epstein aren't making a tract, they're making a film about characters we can relate to, and while it lags at times, this is surprising, funny, and touching. Also, the performers are all good(this is an early look at the talents of Kim Dickens and Vincent Gallo). One of the more under-rated films of the year.

A trio of small town friends intent on pulling off a big-time burglary. Nothing in life seems to favor them and this heist won't either. The cast is young and fresh and the plot is humorous and exciting. Extremely watchable. Good flick for a pick-me up some night.