Prince of Central Park (2000)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

John Leekley

Writers:

John Leekley (written by)
Evan Rhodes (novel)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

Survival is the most dangerous game of all

Plot:

A young boy sets out to find his mother. After setting up camp in Central Park, he encounters a group of people even needier than himself.

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Central Park New York | Based On Novel | Independent Film

Cast

Kathleen Turner	...	Rebecca Cairn
Danny Aiello	...	Noah Cairn
Cathy Moriarty	...	Mrs. Ardis
Frank Nasso	...	JJ Somerled (as Frankie Nasso)
Harvey Keitel	...	The Guardian
Lauren Vélez	...	Rosa Sanchez (as Lauren Velez)
Jerry Orbach	...	Businessman
Mtume Gant	...	Easy
Tina Holmes	...	Annalisse Somerled
Carmen Moreno	...	Sophia
Svetlana Efremova	...	Sophia's Mom
Francesco Vittorio	...	Young JJ
Michael P. Moran	...	Security Guard (as Michael Moran)
Stephanie Berry	...	School Principal
Frank Anthony	...	Carousel Operator

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Seagal/Nasso Productions

Trivia:

The last film that producer Steven Seagal and Julius R. Nasso worked together and their production company "Seagal/Nasso Productions" broke apart.

Movie Connections:

Remake of The Prince of Central Park (1977) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Jam AKA Tribute to Miles Davis

Yet another failed remake

Remakes are bad news. There have been many examples of this in the past decade. From movies like Bedazzled and Sabrina to TV-to-movie repurposings like Beverly Hillbillies and McHale's Navy, the field is littered with failures. One can only hope no director will ever have enough gall to remake Casablanca or Citizen Kane.

I saw this movie only because an online TV listing misidentified this as the 1977 movie that I enjoyed so many years ago. That movie had a youthful joy and sense of innocence that was refreshing in the crime-ridden NYC of the '70s. Alas, apart from the boy's name and the fact that he ran off to Central Park, nothing else was even remotely similar. This JJ is not likeable at all. He's irresponsible and selfish and backed by a host of characters that I care little about, least of all the absurd Guardian, something of a second-rate Fisher King.

It would have been nice to celebrate Central Park's sesquicentennial this year with a DVD of the first movie. For now, I'll have to continue searching and waiting for it to air.