Mikey & Nicky

Peter Falk Director: Elaine May Elaine May

Overview

Nickey (John Cassavetes) is a small-time Jewish gangster in trouble with the mob. He calls on his lifelong friend Mikey (Peter Falk) for help. During the night the two spend together, the power of their friendship is undermined by their mutual nastiness and pressing financial concerns. Elaine May's script was allegedly taken from an episode in the life of her uncle.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/22/2019
UPC:	0715515224710
Original Release:	1976
Source:	Criterion Collection
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	6,404

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Peter Falk	Mikey
John Cassavetes	Nicky
Ned Beatty	Kinney
Rose Arrick	Annie
Carol Grace	Nell
William Hickey	Sid Fine
Sanford Meisner	Dave Resnick
Joyce Van Patten	Jan
M. Emmet Walsh	Bus Driver
Oliver Clark	Actor
David Pendleton	Bar Patron
Jean Shevlin	Lady on Bus
Virginia Smith	Jan's Mother
Martin Wolfson	Candy Store Man
Marilyn Randall	Shirley
Reuben Greene	Franklyn
Sy Travers	Hotel Clerk

Technical Credits

Elaine May

Elaine May	Director,Screenwriter
John P. Austin	Set Decoration/Design
Bud Austin	Producer
Lucien Ballard	Cinematographer
John Carter	Editor
Edward Folger	Asst. Director
Michael Hausman	Producer
Larry Jost	Sound/Sound Designer
Sheldon Kahn	Editor
Victor J. Kemper	Cinematographer
Christopher Newman	Sound/Sound Designer
Peter R. Scoppa	Asst. Director
John Strauss	Score Composer
Paul Sylbert	Production Designer
Richard Vorisek	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

If John Cassavetes didn't appear in Mikey and Nicky, you could call it a rip-off. Depending on how you look at it -- as either the best Cassavetes film Cassavetes never made, or a lot of borrowed gestures that don't quite match the work of their inspiration -- Elaine May's third directorial effort carries with it many of the same problems of Cassavetes' films. Both Cassavetes and Peter Falk deliver intense performances exploring the unspoken boundaries between two lifelong friends, and there's an immediacy to the film's portrayal of Philadelphia's grimy underbelly, but after a while it starts to feel so belabored that its virtues become obscured. While definitely worth a look for fans of May and/or Cassavetes, and certainly not deserving of the hands-off treatment it received upon its initial release, newcomers to the work of either director should work their way through better films before tackling this one.

All Movie Guide

Seen today, Mikey & Nicky offers an almost Shakespearean appreciation of human complexity, paradoxically centered on two characters who are anything but self-aware.

New York Times - Dave Kehr

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