Every generation in the history of mankind has talked about the good old days, so it isn't surprising to find one more example of reminiscing about days gone by and the way things have changed. Most generations probably have some version of pointing out that things really are different in their case, but there might be a pretty good argument this time around.
New York Street Games, a feature documentary by Matthew Levy, takes a look at the games that used to be an undeniably integral part of life in New York City. Showcasing interviews with Hector Elizondo, Regis Philbin, Ray Romano, Whoopi Goldberg, Keith David, Joe Pantoliano, and many more, the film describes the games themselves, but also the life they were a part of. Things may evolve before your eyes as not that much more than a fond memory of a "Spaldeen," but this generation may actually have something to say about what's different, because there really is no other generation in which children suddenly lost all interest in being outside.
Our entrance to the film is thoroughly game-centered, and as one subject rather wonderfully points out, "There are only two games in the world. Run as fast as you can until you drop, and throw the ball as far as you can. Everything else is a mixture of those two games." However, things soon turn to a focus that is more interested in the life and lifestyle of the days in which these games were played, even if we rarely stray long from talk that includes a ball, can, or piece of chalk.
It's a nice run at nostalgia to hear various celebrities talk about the mad dashes to save their balls from the sewer, or the wire hanger retrievals of same, but the film is always talking more about the neighborhood mentality, and the losses that have nothing to do with the fact that no one knows what Stoopball is anymore.
In a refreshingly non-intrusive way, facts about the ridiculous turns of our world, such as Tag being banned in many schools across the country, are given out quickly and the page is abruptly turned. We aren't forced to listen to too much talk about the dwindling physical education in this country, we're just expected to have it in our minds as we listen to the high adventure of Ringolario.
Though there are some adjustments I might make with regard to the style and final composition of the film, the point is well made, and the result is entertaining. It's a film more about questions than answers, as all documentaries should be, and the questions here become intriguing. It is certainly a different time in many ways, and while many will be quick to think that it is a more dangerous world now, a world that makes it impossible to just send your kids out to play without worrying about them, there is a case to be made for the idea that we have our cause and effect mixed around.
There are also things worth wondering about in terms of the do-gooders who have managed such grand feats as ridding schools of Tag. As Whoopi Goldberg points out, "...because someone has to lose? Of course. Losing is how you figure out what to do differently." And, as C. Everett Koop points out, "you had to find a way to fit in," and he says it for all the world as though he didn't know that he was speaking what practically amounts to blasphemy today. There were bigger kids, he goes on to explain, and maybe kids you didn't know, but if you didn't figure out how to get along, you didn't play. There were great lessons in diplomacy, and a variety of interpersonal skills at work among that play.
I remember playing a game at school called "Suicide," and all I remember about it was that it had the convenient benefit of allowing any number of players, and it involved running, a huge brick wall, and a tennis ball. At some point it was possible to fall afoul of the game's "punishment," which was very simply that you stood against the wall and someone tried to hit you as hard as they could with the ball. You had two hands to protect yourself with, but you were only going to do a fair job at your face OR your privates, and the game resulted in a few bloody noses.
Once in a while a ball made it on the roof, and someone would have to shimmy up to an air-conditioner, then jump up to the lip and pull themselves over to retrieve it. There's no doubt at all that a trip to the hospital would have been a best case scenario there.
You couldn't play such a game today, naturally. We'd never be allowed to in the first place, though I don't know that anyone ever condoned what we were doing back then, and the lawsuits would fly even over the bloody nose.
But those, by God, were the days.
Rating: 
RU?
© 2010, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.
About Marc Eastman
Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.
Twitter | Facebook | More Posts (1450)
