This movie is basically a slice-of-life drama about working class people trying to maintain some order when, as Hamlet said, "the time is out of joint". It's plotless and episodic, and the tone changes from broadly comic early on to utterly nightmarish by the end. It has tons of authentic New-York-in-the-'70's atmosphere (it would play well on a bill with TAKING OF PELHAM 123 or SERPICO), and was, of course, actually shot there. The racial tensions, the collapse of the system, the oddballs, the hopelessness -- they're all there. And the performances are quite good -- neither O'Connor nor Borgnine has ever been better.
If you know what to expect, you will probably enjoy it very much. There are a few negative reviews from people who were obviously expecting a straight comedy... that's not what this movie is.
If you know what to expect, you will probably enjoy it very much. There are a few negative reviews from people who were obviously expecting a straight comedy... that's not what this movie is.