Two Bits (1996) * *

Directed by:  James Foley

Starring:  Jerry Barone, Al Pacino, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Alec Baldwin (narrator)

Two Bits is a "you had to be there" type of story.    It focuses on a 12-year old Depression-era South Philly kid named Gennaro who spends a long, hot summer day trying to scrounge together 25 cents (or two bits) to go to the palatial movie theater that just opened in town.     The film was shot in South Philly and seems authentic in its depiction of the Depression, but why should we care if this kid goes to the movies or not?     For Gennaro, going to the movies is his dream, but what does it mean in the long run to the rest of us?   Or even to his dying grandfather or his cash-strapped mother?   I guess you had to be there.

There is nothing about Two Bits that cried out for the story to be told.    It is based on an autobiographical screenplay by Joseph Stefano and it certainly carried meaning for him.    This, however, does not translate to a compelling film.    Not even Al Pacino's presence can save it from being mundane at best.

Gennaro (Barone) is a determined kid with a loving relationship with his family, especially with his ailing grandfather (Pacino), who has the quarter Gennaro needs to buy a ticket.    Grandpa does not want to give it up so easily, although I can not imagine his use for it considering he doesn't have long to live.     Pacino starred in director Foley's Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), which was a superb film.    He was likely doing a favor to Foley by appearing in this film.   So was Alec Baldwin, who also appeared in Glengarry Glen Ross and narrates the proceedings.   Pacino spends so much time hacking that I wanted to call the ambulance for him.

Gennaro spends the day trying to scrounge up the money and falls into different adventures with strange people trying to do so.    His grandpa reveals later that he has unfinished business with a local elderly widow whom he once wanted to marry.    If Gennaro can relay grandpa's message to her, if she is even still alive, then Gennaro can earn the quarter.    If this sounds less than riveting, that is because it is less than riveting.

I admired the pluck of Barone and Mastrantonio, who tries her best to care for her family in a trying period.    The film has the look and feel of what 1933 South Philly must have been like.    The movie theater is appropriately framed as an oasis in a sweltering city.    I find no fault with the technical aspects.     A lot of hard work went into a story that can not keep up its end of the bargain.    It is slight, but told earnestly, so I will not be a churl about it.    It is not a terrible movie, just one in which you shrug and kind of forget about.