Film Review: SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS (2022): Ray Romano’s New Film is Well-Acted, Sincere and Humorous

Somewhere in Queens Review

Somewhere in Queens (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Ray Romano, written by Mark Stegemann and Ray Romano and starring Ray Romano, Laurie Metcalf, Jacob Ward, Jennifer Esposito, Sebastian Maniscalco, Sadie Stanley, Jackson Pace, P.J. Byrne, Karen Lynn Gorney, Erik Griffin, Geoffrey Owens, June Gable, Caryn Richman, Tony Lo Bianco, J.C. Mackenzie, Elizabeth Yu, Jon Manfrellotti, Dierdre Friel and Lauren Biazzo.

Director Ray Romano’s new comic drama, Somewhere in Queens, is a well-meaning picture about an aging every day guy named Leo Russo (played by Romano, himself) who lies to his teenage son, “Sticks” (Jacob Ward), for a greater good. This plot was done similarly to a much better degree in last year’s masterpiece, I Love My Dad. However, the Queens, New York setting of the new picture and its colorful characters make the viewer invested in the lives of the fictional people it portrays. Ultimately, Romano and his main co-star, Laurie Metcalf, keep the movie down-to-earth and humorous and make it worth the viewer’s investment.

Metcalf plays Leo’s wife, Angela in the film. Metcalf has always been an actress with a quirky sense of humor who knows exactly how to capture all the eccentricities of the characters she portrays to a tee and her role here is no exception. Angela lives in fear of getting cancer due to her past experiences and is encouraged to join a support group. Metcalf shines in this part. One particularly excellent sequence comes when she goes to a doctor and asks her doctor for further testing even though the doctor assures Angela she is going to be OK. This scene features some of the best dramatic work of Metcalf’s career.

Leo works in a construction business and, one night, attends a high school basketball game with Angela. Their son, Sticks, is playing and doing extremely well. When a scout suggests that they consider taking Sticks’s basketball prospects seriously, a light goes off in Leo’s head. One problem, though. Sticks is dating a girl named Dani (a well-cast Sadie Stanley) who Sticks is head over heels in love with. Unfortunately, Dani doesn’t feel the same way.

Here’s where the similarities to I Love My Dad come into play. Leo enlists Dani to lie about her feelings for Sticks and continue to see him even after Dani has decided to break up with him. For this, Leo offers her financial compensation. It’s a stupid thing to do but Leo believes that Sticks could have the opportunity through basketball to break free from the family construction business.

Somewhere in Queens doesn’t succeed because of its plot (which is a bit familiar and only moderately successful). Instead, the picture is more successful in its characterizations. Leo and Angela are a believable couple and Sticks is awkwardly authentic. Jacob Ward does an admirable turn as the son who is so in love that it’s almost impossible for him to erase his feelings for Dani. Romano is heartfelt in his most nuanced performance to date. But, this is Metcalf’s movie from beginning to end. She’s raw and vulnerable in her fierce turn here. When she spots Dani at the mall cheating on her son, Angela wants to tell Sticks which is easier said than done. There’s a lot of complexity in Metcalf’s turn and the actress succeeds many times over.

Some of the supporting cast is enjoyable to watch but it also feels like some of the performers in the movie are from another movie altogether. A female client of Leo’s played by Jennifer Esposito comes into the film and tries to seduce Leo but these scenes feel a bit forced. Still, a couple of the movie’s supporting roles do offer some interesting surprises such as an early scene where Sticks brings Dani over to his house for dinner. We see some colorful characters here who lighten up the film in this scene.

However, the ending of the movie falls apart. It depends too much on material that feels recycled from much better movies such as the far superior I Love My Dad. I wasn’t a fan at all of the movie’s conclusion which is too open-ended even though it is true to life in some respects. More closure regarding Sticks’s future could have been revealed and the movie ends on a bit of a sour note considering its vulgarity.

But, I’m giving the movie a pass. Romano, Metcalf and Ward are all above the story the movie presents thanks to their layered performances, and they somehow make the picture work better than it has any right to. Some of the film’s school sequences were filmed at my alma mater, Christ the King High School in Middle Village, Queens. This movie makes excellent use of the location and to see characters who feel real is an asset to the movie.

While Somewhere in Queens is undeniably a flawed film, there is a lot of heart brought to the material by the actors at hand. If you’re looking to see some Queens landmarks, the movie also succeeds in that particular regard. There’s a hot dog truck that makes an appearance which is a Woodhaven Boulevard staple. Fun tidbit: I once worked at a store right down the block from that truck called West Coast Video where Ray Romano was once a member. Romano directed the movie and knows the people of Queens very well. It’s that added bonus that drives the movie home and makes it worth seeing.

Rating: 7/10

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