An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Derek Malcolm's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Steve Barron.
Cast: Octavio Gomez, Eugenia Yuan, Aaron Paul, Mandy Patinkin, Kate Buddeke
Description: Set largely within the confines of a diner located at the intersection of two streets in Jamaica, Queens, this intimate drama centres on shy Ecuadorean dishwasher Jorge, who tries to keep himself to himself and avoid the bullying of co-worker Jerry. He has a crush on the new Chinese-American waitress, Amy, who sends her tips home to her family, but she is more interested in protecting the painfully vulnerable Jorge. Meanwhile, Greek-American owner Rick tries to keep the peace whilst suffering the dark moods of his wife, who holds court at the cash register.
Country: US. 2006. 85mins
Mean streets: Choking Man charts the lives of poor immigrants linked by their connections to a down-at-heel diner in New York
You would never believe that this small-scale independent movie was written and directed by Steve Barron, who made the currently showing fantasy Merlin for TV and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the cinema. It is a minimalist study of Jorge (Octavia Gomez Berrios), a shy young Latin American kitchen worker in the Jamaica district of Queens, New York, which is said to be the most multicultural neighbourhood in the world, with 140 different languages spoken.
Unfortunately, Jorge doesn’t seem to speak any of them, gets bullied by a fellow worker at the diner run by Rick (Mandy Patinkin) and is encouraged by his possibly gay flatmate to do something about his obvious attraction to Amy (Eugenia Yuan), a nice Chinese waitress.
Most of human life works in or visits Rick’s diner, including a ravaged middle-aged waitress who hates the fat, quarrelsome chef and a nutty customer who almost chokes to death on the food.
All this is well shot in Jamaica itself, a dingy and depressed area which in no way simulates its Caribbean namesake, as Barron paints a sympathetic portrait of immigrants scraping a living in less than salubrious circumstances.
Gomez Berrios plays poor, silent Jorge as a man whose life seems to stretch out before him with no promise at all, while Amy proves that, even in these circumstances, it is possible to be cheerful.
It’s not a bad effort at all — and certainly a whole class above Ninja Turtles.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Afternoon:
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