Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God… Be Back by Five Blu Ray Review (MVD Rewind Collection)

Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God… Be Back by Five is a 1998 independent drama film co-written, produced, & directed by Richard Schenkman (Angel 4: Undercover, The Pompatus of Love, October 22, The Man from Earth, & The Man from Earth: Holocene). Jon Cryer starred, co-wrote, & produced this film. It was a Blockbuster Video exclusive for it’s original release. It won the audience award at the Austin Film Festival. Daniel & Stan met on the streets of New York at a young age. They both end up meeting another kid Richie to form a click that would remain best friends through out their childhood. Daniel (played by: Jon Cryer from Pretty in Pink, Morgan Stewart’s Coming Home, Dudes, Hiding Out, & Hot Shots!) is the one that actually grew up & managed to stay at the same job for years. Stan (played by: Rick Stear from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twelfth Night, or What You Will, Astoria, & The Warrior Class) doesn’t know what he wants in life. He’s had various jobs over the years, alcoholic, owes money, & a rough relationship with long time girlfriend Gabby (played by: Ione Skye from Say Anything, River’s Edge, & Wayne’s World).

They haven’t seen Richie (played by: Rafael Báez from Shanghai Noon, Empire, Sea of Love, & New York Undercover) for 10 years. Stan pulls Daniel out his job “on a mission from God” to find their lost best friend. Apparently, Richie is mentally ill & homeless in Coney Island now. They take the train to try to find & help their troubled buddy. They end up at a game room ran by a Skee-Ball Weasel (played by: Frank Whaley from Pulp Fiction, The Doors, & Vacancy) looking for information. They run into a older local man named Mickey (played by: Dominic Chianese from The Sopranos, The Godfather Part II, & Boardwalk Empire) that takes photos for a living. He tells the two friends where the homeless is located in the community. After visiting a questionable sideshow ran by Freak Show Guy (played by: director Richard Schenkman from Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies) they go into a restaurant. That’s where they run into the worst Waitress in the world (played by: Judy Reyes from Scrubs, Oz, & Claws) & the heartbroken Maurice (played by: Peter Gerety from Sneaky Pete, Homicide, & The Wire). Still looking for answers from whoever they cross paths with. Each one has a little piece of the puzzle but not exactly enough to help them find the missing Richie.

They haven’t seen Richie (played by: Rafael Báez from Shanghai Noon, Empire, Sea of Love, & New York Undercover) for 10 years. Stan pulls Daniel out his job “on a mission from God” to find their lost best friend. Apparently, Richie is mentally ill & homeless in Coney Island now. They take the train to try to find & help their troubled buddy. They end up at a game room ran by a Skee-Ball Weasel (played by: Frank Whaley from Pulp Fiction, The Doors, & Vacancy) looking for information. They run into a older local man named Mickey (played by: Dominic Chianese from The Sopranos, The Godfather Part II, & Boardwalk Empire) that takes photos for a living. He tells the two friends where the homeless is located in the community. After visiting a questionable sideshow ran by Freak Show Guy (played by: director Richard Schenkman from Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies) they go into a restaurant. That’s where they run into the worst Waitress in the world (played by: Judy Reyes from Scrubs, Oz, & Claws) & the heartbroken Maurice (played by: Peter Gerety from Sneaky Pete, Homicide, & The Wire). Still looking for answers from whoever they cross paths with. Each one has a little piece of the puzzle but not exactly enough to help them find the missing Richie.

They reminisce about their past & memories together. They discover from Richie’s mom that he took off after a tragedy. After their long journey, they finally find Richie & take him to a diner. He’s a completely different person & he doesn’t remember anything from before. He doesn’t resemble the friend they knew from the past. This makes Daniel & Stan question their own friendship & they get into a fight over it. They decide to come back to save Richie & getting him the proper treatment for help. This whole situation woke Stan up & he’s determined to turn his life around after his recent experience!!!!

Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God… Be Back by Five is a heartfelt tale about 3 best friends that took a different direction in their lives. They hold on to & remember their childhood past when everything was good. Somehow, they all disconnected a little bit after getting older especially with Richie. Jon Cryer & Rick Stear have fantastic chemistry as the best friends on a mission from god. Rafael Báez is devastating as the troubled & lost Richie. You feel his pain when he tells them the story of his sister. His character is struggling to get back to reality after facing so much pain. The characters that pop up during their quest to find their friend were really wacky & stood out in their small scenes. I was very impressed with the supporting cast in this. The Coney Island locations & atmosphere added so much to the story. You felt like you were in a whole new world while they were there. This film had it all, it delivered the drama & comedy with a nice balance to really a set tone to the adventure. It’s independent cinema that uses every source at it’s highest level. You get invested in the roles & want to experience more after it’s done.

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation. This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer is a frame by frame supervised digital restoration from original 35mm film elements. I was really impressed how great this low budget independent film looked on this blu ray! My personal favorite & the strongest visuals in this are Coney Island. All the locations & the atmosphere is more than a background in this feature. It has two audio options English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & English: LPCM 2.0 which are enhanced by the incredible soundtrack. So many familiar tracks. They were all used in the perfect scenes for this. English SDH subtitles are also included.

Let’s discuss the special features on this release from MVD Rewind. You get an introduction from co-writer/producer/directer by Richard Schenkman & co-writer/producer/actor Jon Cryer. They talk a little about the film. They also joke about how both of them have aged well since the 20 years this has been made. Audio Commentary with co-writer/producer/directer by Richard Schenkman & co-writer/producer/actor Jon Cryer. They talk about Cinematographer Adam Beckman suggesting a Coney Island like environment for this. They took notice & actually used Coney Island for the feature. They talk about locations used in the film. How some of it has changed since then. They talk about personal experiences that inspired characters & stories in this. They chat about the cast & how some got involved. They mention it took around 36 set ups for Frank Whaley scenes. They only had him for one day so they had to make sure they got everything done in a limited time. Cryer mentions it was odd playing a younger version of himself in the flashback scenes at first until he got the haircut which put everything in place & it was easy after that.

Dominic Chianese was happy to finally a role where he could take his teeth out. They say the freakshow used in the film was actually real. They say the original location for the diner fell through & they had to find a replacement at the very last minute. Judy Reyes is Rafael Báez’s cousin. They said it might seem like it sometimes but none of the actors improvised in this production. It was all from the script. Both have all kinds of stories & memories about making Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God… Be Back by Five. It’s a fun track & it teaches a decent amount that didn’t you know about this film. “Went to Coney Island…To Make a Movie” is an almost 19 minute behind the scenes archival featurette. Richard Schenkman & Jon Cryer talk about it originating at the Cannes Film Festival. Jon Cryer wrote a short based off personal experiences. Richard Schenkman added his own real life events to it. They decided to make it a full length feature. They wrote the screenplay in 6 weeks. They chat about Rick Stear going in for a small part & he was so good that he ended getting the lead role.

They go into detail about various actors that appeared in the film & how they were cast in this feature. It has brief moments with some of the actors that are pretty well known now on here. “The Producer” is a 3 minute comedy short from director Richard Schenkman. It also has promotional materials which includes the original Theatrical Trailer & a 4 minute Photo Gallery. Last but not least, it has several trailers for other films directed by Richard Schenkman. MVD Rewind provides a mini collectable poster & a nice looking retro slipcover that brings you back to the VHS days. This is why I appreciate the MVD Rewind Collection, I’ve never heard of this little gem until now thanks to them. I’ve been missing out because this was really good, it had great performances, & the screenplay was top notch. It really went deep into these characters & it made you care about what happened to them. This release comes highly recommended from Today’s Haul!!!!