Prince of Central Park

A truly wonderfully directed film. Young Mr.Nasso is certainly some one to watch and the great pros -Ms. Turner and Mr. Aiello- never let you down. Lauren Velez (OZ) and Jerry Orbach (Law & Order) are perfection in their smaller roles. This story of a young man's journey (physically and emotionally) through horrible circumstances to loving possibilities, is inspiring and real. The whole family can watch together: laughing,crying and ultimately cheering. Enjoy!!!

I watched this movie recently and found it to be pretty good. I was surprised at the low ranking it was given here. That was before i realized that it was a remake of another very popular film. I may or may not have seen the original, i can't recall, however I feel it's unfair to slam this one because it doesn't quite stand up against the original movie. There were a few scenes that were very well done and genuinely touched me. I loved the scene on the ferry when the boy was imagining his mom writing a letter about her love for her son. I really felt the character's sense of loss in that scene. This technique is repeated when the JJ goes and rides on the carosuel that he had shared with his mom. Having said that, the movie is a bit uneven. The cast was terrific except for the kid playing JJ. There were times when he wasn't effective but hey he's only a child and not all children can give emotional performances in movies. Something else that bugged me is the way JJ stays clean and well groomed while living with a dog in a cave. Not very realistic. I also didn't feel Kathleen Turner gave a terrific performance, perhaps a bit of miscasting there. Overall I was entertained for a couple of hours and yeah it could have been better but there were some very powerful scenes that made it worthwhile.

A young boy flees the clutches of his foster-mother and decides to take up residence in Central Park. There he meets a few people that will help him to shape his future: a bully, The Guardian (a witty Harvey Keitel) and a couple with needs of there own (Aielo and Turner). This movie has some surreal undertones and can count on a very strong cast to make the story not too sentimental.

A real treat for children of all ages.

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.

The auteur of "Prince" manages to take an excellent cast, a decent story, a mediocre script and carefully assemble them into one boring, monotonous, amateurish mess. In spite of a strong central performance by Frank Nasso, the Prince, this disjointed film wanders aimlessly from scene to scene, painfully disintegrating into hash. The result brings a sigh of relief at the end where the tears of joy should be. A sad waste of time and talent and a good example of how NOT to direct a film.