Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 17, 2011

Mostly strong, that is, with the major exception of Tom Guiry's portrayal of Joe Jr. Painfully broad, Guiry practically sinks the film with garishly slack-jawed and over-the-top manchildishness.

| Aug 8, 2009

It's far from a natural, but somehow, some way, it makes its point.

| Original Score: B- | Mar 3, 2009

Celestino's bid to wrap everything up in tidy fashion feels at odds with the grittiness of the film's first two-thirds, but in the end, the movie's glimpse into a seldom-seen slice of life sticks with you.

| Original Score: C+ | Feb 6, 2009

Palminteri helps the film earn very slight passing marks, if only mostly because it's interesting to see these old operators have to adapt their schemes for new times.

| Original Score: C+ | Jan 28, 2009

A very well-made and well-acted film, with a very touching story about fathers, sons, and the difficulties of raising special needs kids.

| Jan 23, 2009

The parts of Yonkers Joe that have to do with gambling are fun; unfortunately, they make up only half the movie.

| Jan 23, 2009

The typecast actor breaks out of his comfort zone.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 21, 2009

As Janice, Christine Lahti is the pivot between father and son. The scenes between Janice and Joe Jr. are sweet, harrowing, movie-altering.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 16, 2009

Yonkers Joe is incoherent, succeeding neither as an exciting gambling ride nor a touching family story.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Jan 16, 2009

Yonkers Joe is like a so-so trip to Vegas, one where you lose as much as you gain gambling. In other words, it's not the trip you're most likely to tell your friends about.

| Jan 13, 2009

An extremely awkward cross between Ocean's Eleven and Rain Man.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 9, 2009

[Director] Celestino steers clear of the can't-miss pulp thriller that Yonkers Joe could've been, and goes for broke by giving it big dollop of schmaltz. His horse doesn't come in, but it runs a respectable race.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Jan 9, 2009

Heartfelt, well-acted but overly sincere drama of a smalltime hustler and the 20-year-old Down's syndrome son he's barely known.

| Jan 9, 2009

For all its attention to detail, Yonkers Joe isn't half as tough as it pretends to be. The real story of these bottom-feeders and the sad young man they exploit is a lot uglier than the movie even begins to let on.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 9, 2009

If you can watch Yonkers Joe without thinking it's a mild Rain Man rip-off, you'll enjoy a film that could have been plagued with plot issues, but rises above it

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 8, 2009

Lahti burns through a thinly written role with a surprising level of warmth and humanity, and Guiry is at times repellently convincing as a kid genetically incapable of either nuance or fakery.

| Jan 7, 2009

There's great potential to be a classic Vegas indie drama ala Swingers or The Cooler though it's only 60% its way to getting there.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jan 6, 2009

Yonkers Joe confirms that writer-director Robert Celestin knows his way around a local cash-stakes game of craps. It also proves, unfortunately, that his scripting skills need substantial honing.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 5, 2009

While Celestino doesn't roll snake eyes exactly, Yonkers Joe could have prospered if the filmmaker had worried more about keeping the dice hot and had let viewers' hearts warm naturally.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 10, 2008