Search - Amongst Friends on DVD

Wanna Be

07/26/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Amongst Friends is sort of a fun movie, but it takes itself waytoo seriously and in so doing becomes somewhat of a parody ofitself.The movie follows three wealthy kids from Hewlett Harbor as they grow from bad kids (steal money, pick fights) to adult versions where they dress better and drive nice cars. It is a story of three kids who seem to do whatever they can to follow the wrong path. Ultimately, they betray each other in the worst sort of way.There are lot of holes to this story. The old ... guy (his sweaters and jewelry are hilarious) orders hits based on no information whatsoever. One of the men the film follows from childhood is often nervous and embarassed by his life and wants something more. But this part of him is never explored - in fact, most of the characters in this movie are one dimensional and flat. Even in mob movies we see ruthless killers evaluate the choices they've made and the life they lead. This rarely comes into play, and it should have. Being wealthy, streetsmart kids from Long Island, the characters should be very aware of the options (college, moving to another place, opening up a legitimate business, etc) they waived for the life they chose. In the beginning of the movie, we can see what the boys dream of becoming, and then we flash forward to see which ones "made" it and which ones didn't. The movie offers no insight into what they did to get there, and how they went about it, which is perhaps the most important and could have been the most interesting facet of the movie.This film is entertaining, but the story is predictable and flat, with few surprises. When the movie ends, you do not know the characters well. The theme is basically that what they all thought they wanted, a tough, rich, powerful lifestyle, tore their friendships apart in a desperate battle of egos and one upmanship. A lot more could have been done here."

Wanna Be

07/25/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Amonst Friends is sort of a fun movie, but it takes itself way too seriously and in so doing becomes somewhat of a parody of itself.The movie follows three wealthy kids from Hewlett Harbor as they grow from bad kids (steal money, pick fights) to adult versions where they dress better and drive nice cars. It is a story of three kids who seem to do whatever they can to follow the wrong path. Ultimately, they betray each other in the worst sort of way.There are lot of holes to this story. The old Jewish guy (his sweaters and jewelry are hilarious) orders hits based on no information whatsoever. One of the men the film follows from childhood is often nervous and embarassed by his life and wants something more. But this part of him is never explored - in fact, most of the characters in this movie are one dimensional and flat. Even in mob movies we see ruthless killers evaluate the choices they've made and the life they lead. This rarely comes into play, and it should have. Being wealthy, streetsmart kids from Long Island, the characters should be very aware of the options (college, moving to another place, opening up a legitimate business, etc) they waived for the life they chose. In the beginning of the movie, we can see what the boys dream of becoming, and then we flash forward to see which ones "made" it and which ones didn't. The movie offers no insight into what they did to get there, and how they went about it, which is perhaps the most important and could have been the most interesting facet of the movie.This film is entertaining, but the story is predictable and flat, with few surprises. When the movie ends, you do not know the characters well. The theme is basically that what they all thought they wanted, a tough, rich, powerful lifestyle, tore their friendships apart in a desperate battle of egos and one upmanship. A lot more could have been done here."

One of my favorites

M. Kenney | Boston, MA USA | 11/08/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Independent Film has all the ingredients for a great movie....romance, violence and drama! The music during the robbery scene really gets your heart pumping! I didnt care much for the characters Vic and Sal who only appeared for a few short moments in the film (they were annoying and gave the movie a comedy vibe that didn't fit at all). Everytime a friend is over that hasn't watched Amongst Friends, I put it on. I never had one person say that they didn't like the movie. Everyone thinks it was a "really good" movie."

This movie rocked.

M. Kenney | 09/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We're talking rich kids from the 5 towns here. Rap, wannabe gansters from Long Island, New York with babes, selling drugs and killing each other. What more can you ask for? And a great soundtrack. One of the best movies ever made in March of 1993 about rich Long Island kids who want to be gangsters."