Mikey and Nicky [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

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
Rating:	R
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	3,960

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

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

Technical Credits

Elaine May

Bud Austin	Executive Producer,Producer
Michael Hausman	Producer
Elaine May	Director,Screenwriter
Larry Jost	Sound/Sound 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