29th Street is a 1991 American comedy-drama film written and directed by George Gallo, starring Danny Aiello, Anthony LaPaglia, and Lainie Kazan. Based on a story by Frank Pesce and James Franciscus, the film is loosely based on Pesce's experiences and follows Frank Pesce Jr., played by LaPaglia, whose lifelong good fortune culminates in his involvement in the first New York State Lottery.
Plot On Christmas Eve 1976, Frank Pesce Jr. attends the first New York Lottery drawing at Madison Square Garden, where he wins $6.2 million. Rather than celebrate, he leaves the arena, angrily confronts a priest outside a church and is arrested after damaging a Nativity display. At the police station, Frank explains his reaction by recounting the extraordinary luck that has followed him throughout his life.
Frank's good fortune begins at birth, where his mother unexpectedly gives birth at another hospital shortly before the hospital where he was supposed to be born catches fire. As he grows up in an Italian-American family in New York, his luck repeatedly contrasts with that of his hard-working father, Frank Sr., whose ambitions are frustrated by financial problems and gambling. Frank survives being stabbed when the resulting medical treatment reveals a cancerous tumor early enough to be removed. Later, while cashing an unemployment check, he buys a lottery ticket only because he needs to spend an additional dollar at a pawnshop, and eventually learns that he is one of the lottery finalists.
Meanwhile, Frank Sr. has accumulated a $10,000 gambling debt to mobster Louie Tucci. Believing that his father's life is in danger, Frank Jr. offers his lottery ticket to a man he believes is one of Tucci's associates in exchange for forgiving the debt. After Frank Jr. wins the lottery, he returns home to discover that Frank Sr. had anticipated what he would do and arranged for a friend to intercept the ticket instead. Frank Sr. pays Tucci for the debt, the father and son reconcile, and Frank Jr. retains his winnings.
Cast The cast includes: Danny Aiello as Frank Pesce Sr. Anthony LaPaglia as Frank Pesce Jr. Lainie Kazan as Mrs. Pesce Frank Pesce as Vito Pesce Robert Forster as Sergeant Tartaglia Ron Karabatsos as Philly "The Nap" Rick Aiello as Jimmy Vitello Vic Manni as Louie Tucci Paul Lazar as "Needle Nose" Nipton Pete Antico as Tony Donna Magnani as Madeline Pesce Sal Ruffino as Angelo Tony Lip as Nicky "Bad Lungs".
Production Writer-director George Gallo based 29th Street on the experiences of actor Frank Pesce, whom he had met while working on Midnight Run. Contemporary reporting described the film as focusing on Pesce's relationship with his father in an Italian-American New York neighborhood. Pesce later said that he conceived the project while appearing in bit parts on Who's the Boss?, and that James Franciscus lent him £3,000 and helped him to develop the story. According to Pesce, the project was sold to three studios, creating legal complications over the rights.
Although much of the film drew on Pesce's life, its lottery ending was fictionalized. Pesce told the Los Angeles Times that he had actually been offered $10,000 for his lottery ticket but kept it at his father's urging and ultimately won nothing. A fan of Frank Capra, he said he changed the outcome because he wanted the story to have a happy ending.
Principal photography began on 22 October 1990. The Los Angeles Times reported that the production was shooting in Wilmington, North Carolina, with David Permut producing and Gallo making his directorial debut. The eight-week shoot used locations around Wilmington, including the Carolco Studios backlot, while the Old Coliseum in Charlotte doubled for Madison Square Garden. More than 3,000 extras were used for the lottery-drawing sequence, which was among the final scenes filmed.
Release 29th Street was selected to open the 27th Chicago International Film Festival on 11 October 1991. 20th Century Fox released the film theatrically in the United States on 1 November 1991. It opened in 131 theatres, earning $431,660 during its opening weekend, and grossed $2,120.564 domestically.
Reception On Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, praising its energy, humor and performances by Danny Aiello, Anthony LaPaglia, and Lainie Kazan, although he found the ending less convincing.
Peter Rainer of the Los Angeles Times considered the film sentimental and overblown, but praised Kazan's performance and argued that George Gallo's affection for the characters gave the film warmth. Desson Howe of The Washington Post was more negative, criticizing the film as derivative of both Goodfellas and the films of Frank Capra.
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