Lost in Yonkers isn't autobiographical though personal notes work their way in, notably in the evocation of wartime New York and the personalities of the smart-talking brothers. And while the film is ostensibly about the boys, it is just as much about their Aunt Bella, a learning disabled adult with a childlike innocence and a grown woman's feelings, and her relationship with the controlling Grandma Kurnitz, a strict German widow from the old country who seems unaccountably cold and judgmental. Simon adapted his play to the screen, opening the insular stage play from the two-room upstairs apartment to include scenes in the candy store below and in the neighborhood beyond, and expanding some of the supporting roles.
Mercedes Ruehl and Irene Worth both won Tony Awards for their original stage performances as Aunt Bella and Grandma Kurnitz, respectively. They reprised the roles they created on Broadway for the big screen while Richard Dreyfus took the showcase role of Uncle Louie, which was originally played on Broadway by Kevin Spacey. The role was expanded for the film and Dreyfuss, who won an Oscar starring in the film version of Simon's The Goodbye Girl, plays the would-be wise-guy with a mix of tough-guy preening and ineffectual bluster. The character of Johnny, the usher who tentatively dates Bella, was an offstage presence in the play, spoken of but never seen. Simon wrote him into the screenplay and David Strathairn, then a regular in John Sayles' company, played the role. As for the brothers, two newcomers were cast in their respective screen debuts. Brad Stoll, who played the elder brother Jay, never made another film, though he did appear in the 1993 TV series CityKids. He passed away in 1997, at the age of 20, from cancer. Mike Damus, who played younger brother Arty, went on to a busy TV career, including major roles in four short-lived series.
Martha Coolidge broke into feature films making contemporary, youth oriented comedies but displayed a real affinity for period pieces and character drama in Rambling Rose, starring Laura Dern and Diane Ladd. That was the film that convinced Simon she was the right director for the film version. "When I saw Rambling Rose, I knew she knew how to tell a woman's story," said Simon in 1993. "I've had more compatible conversations with her than I've had with some men [directors], who don't understand the material at all."
Coolidge had a more personal connection to the material than even Simon knew. While she was growing up, she was left with her grandmother when her father was dying of cancer. She was "not good with children particularly," explained Coolidge in a 1993 interview. "My grandmother was pretty severe, but I think you can be severe and be human at the same time. And I think this movie allows the audience to see the character of Grandma Kurnitz as a very damaged person. You can see the pain in her eyes and see inside her soul."
The low-key film was well received by critics and audiences. "[T]he film of Simon's Broadway play has a special quality to it," wrote Roger Ebert. "All of the performances are good, but one of them, by Mercedes Ruehl, casts a glow over the entire film." And Janet Maslin in The New York Times praised the power of the drama behind the comedy: "Before it is over, the story has traded in its more whimsical touches for moments of real anguish."
By Sean Axmaker
Sources:
Lost in Yonkers, Neil Simon. Random House, 1991.
"Lost in Yonkers" film review, Roger Ebert. Chicago Sun-Times, May 14, 1993.
"Tale of Two Cities: Yonkers and 'Yonkers'," Roberta Hershenson. New York Times, December 13, 1992.
"'Lost in Yonkers': Simon's Serious Comedy of Contemporary Nostalgia," Janet Maslin. New York Times, May 14, 1993.
"Found in Yonkers: Simon, Coolidge and Cast Discover Mutual Respect," Terry Pristin. Los Angeles Times, May 11, 1993.
"'Lost in Yonkers' Rings Familiar to its Director, Martha Coolidge," Frank Rizzo. Hartford Courant, May 14, 1993.
