Hey Good Lookin'
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- For the Hank Williams song, see Hey Good Lookin' (song)
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Hey Good Lookin' is a 1982 animated film written, directed, and produced by Ralph Bakshi, and distributed by Warner Bros. The film takes place in Brooklyn, New York, during the 1950s. Vinnie is the leader of The Stompers, a ragtag "gang" with delusions of grandeur. His girl, Roz, thinks Vinnie is the most wonderful thing on two legs. And his friend, Crazy Shapiro, would die for the honor of Vinnie and the gang.
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[edit] Plot
The film begins in Long Island on the present day, with a philosophical conversation between a garbage can and a pile of trash. A few blocks away, a middle-aged woman meets a strange man on the streets at night who shows her the remains of a leather jacket.
In a flashback to 1950s-era Brooklyn, we meet Vinnie (voice of Richard Romanus), the leader of The Stompers, who values, in equal measure, the perfection of his hairstyle and scoring with girls. Vinnie finds himself falling for voluptuous young Jewish girl-down-the-block Rozzie (Tina Romanus).
Unfortunately Vinnie finds his amorous intentions blocked by her overprotective dad and the neediness of his pal Crazy Shapiro (David Proval), a loudmouthed freak who more than lives up to his moniker, and his impulsiveness leads to many conflicts, including fights with other gangs — a real problem because Vinnie is nowhere near as tough as he pretends to be. Crazy's father, a detective, hates him, and routinely tries to kill him.
Replete with rock & roll shows, wild parties, make-out sessions, and booze-filled New York nights, the nostalgic insanity culminates in a bloody shootout that threatens to separate Rozzie and Vinnie forever.
[edit] Production
Bakshi started making Hey Good Lookin' in 1975.[1] It took 4-5 more years to complete it around other films.[2] Hey Good Lookin' was originally going to be a live-action movie with a few animated characters (similar to Who Framed Roger Rabbit). Bakshi's rationale was that "the animated characters were such clichés of the period - balancing them with more realistic actors would be interesting".[3]
When Bakshi's original cut of the film was shown to Warner Brothers executives, they loved it. A week later, they told Bakshi that the idea of having live-action and animated characters in the same frame was too unbelievable, and delayed the film's release, forcing Bakshi to go back and animate the live action sequences in-between the making of three other films.[3]
"There was really nothing wrong with live action and animation productions," Bakshi said. "It was just that nobody thought about them making money till Roger Rabbit came out. Then they realized they made a mistake. But it was too late for Hey Good Lookin'."[4]
It is unknown who currently has the original live-action footage.[4] One notable sequence in the released version of the film that was originally in live-action was the "rumble" ending: the black gang members are rotoscoped from the original live actors.[2] A live-action scene cut from the film featured glam-punk band, New York Dolls, taking place at the party before Vinny attempts to convince the Stompers to brawl the Chaplains. While Vinny and Crazy are in the bathroom, the other Stompers fight with the Dolls back and forth outside the bathroom. Many photographs of the scene were taken during filming.[4] In recent years, the film has become a cult classic.
[edit] Quotes
- Vinnie: Well, listen, Ms. Movie star - Vinnie doesn't pay for it. OK? Vinnie NEVER pays for it.
- Crazy Shapiro: It's Roz! It's Roz! It's Roz! It's Roz!
- Crazy Shapiro: Some nights I... I just feel like painting a picture.
- Vinnie: Hey, Norman Rockwell - paint me a picture.
- Crazy Shapiro: I didn't say I painted. I said I "felt like" like it.
- Vinnie: Hey, there are over twenty million faggots in New York that "feel like it" -- you wanna make it twenty million and one?
- Old Vinnie: If there was one thing we learned back then that's still true now, it's that if you turn a woman upside down, they all look alike. So why bother?
- Crazy Shapiro: When I'm up on the roof, it's like nothing can touch me. You know, it's all so quiet and beautiful, with the whole city right out in front of my eyes.
[edit] Cast
Credited:
- Richard Romanus .... Vinnie (voice)
- David Proval .... Crazy Shapiro (voice)
- Jesse Welles .... Eva (voice)
- Tina Romanus .... Rozzie (voice) (as Tina Bowman)
- Danny Wells .... Stomper (voice)
- Larry Bishop .... Stomper (voice)
- Tabi Cooper .... Stomper (voice)
- Juno Dawson .... Waitress (voice)
- Shirley Jo Finney .... Chaplin (voice)
- Martin Garner .... Yonkel (voice)
- Terry Haven .... Alice (voice)
- Allen Joseph .... Max (voice)
- Bernie Massa .... Stomper (voice)
- Gelsa Palao .... Stomper (voice)
- Paul Roman .... Stomper (voice)
- Philip Michael Thomas .... Chaplin (voice) (as Philip M. Thomas)
- Frank DeKova .... Old Vinnie (voice)
- Angelo Grisanti .... Solly (voice)
- Candy Candido .... Sal (voice)
- Ed Peck .... Italian Man (voice)
- Lillian Adams .... Italian Woman (voice)
- Mary Dean Lauria .... Italian Woman (voice)
- Donna Ponterotto .... Gelsa (voice)
Uncredited:
- Vincent Di Paolo .... Gang Member at Beach
- Chris Eann .... Gangster
[edit] Credits
- Written by: Ralph Bakshi
- Music by: John Madara, Ric Sandler
- Music Editor: Eugene Marks
- Music Producer: John Madara
- Duet Vocal Performer: Ichshe Sandler
- Vocal Performaner: Ric Sandler
- Animation: Brenda Banks, Carl Bell, Bob Carlson, John Gentilella, Steven E. Gordon, Manny Perez, Virgil Ross, John Sparey, Irven Spence, Tom Tataranowicz, Robert Taylor, John E. Walker Sr.
- Key Animators: Judith Clarke, Mario Williams, George Grandpre, Alan Zaslove, Margaret Nichols, Eduardo Olivares
- Assistant Animators: John Dorman, Joan Drake, Judy Drake, Mabel Gesner, Stod Herbert, Larry Huber, Charlotte Huffine, Sammie June Lanham, Larry Leichliter, Fred McManus, Rae McSpadden, Barney Posner, Ron Scholefield, Ben Shenkman, Emily Steele, James T. Walker, Gwen Wetzler
- Background: Rene Garcia, Matt Golden, John Vita
- Background Layout: Ira Turek
- Storyboard Design: Gordon Harrison, Carey Roberts, David Silverman, Michael Sosnowski
- Layouts: David Jonas, Don Morgan, John Sparey
- Painting: Diane Dunning, Laurel Harper, Stacey Maniskas, Tasia Williams
- Lip Sync: Bill Ewing
- Checking: Mary J. Adams, Pat Capozzi, Valentine Paul, Nelda Ridley, Beverly Robbins
- Ink & Paint Supervisors: Janet Cummings, Susan Cary Jonas
- Cel Reproductions: Edgar Gutierrez, Paul Strickland
- Track Reader: Kimberly R. Cronin
- Music Engineer: Steve Sykes
- Assistant Music Engineer: Steve Thume
- Camera: Ted C. Bemiller
- Negative Cutting: Jack Hooper
- Choreographer: Toni Basil
- Film Editor: Donald W. Ernst
- Assistant to the Producer: Leah Bernstein
- Production Coordinator:Mark Bakshi
- Executive Producer: Ronald Kauffman
- Produced & Directed by: Ralph Bakshi
[edit] Notes
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ a b Ralph Bakshi, as quoted on the official Bakshi forum
- ^ a b Ralph Bakshi, as quoted on the official Bakshi forum
- ^ a b c Ralph Bakshi, as quoted on the official Bakshi forum
[edit] External links
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| Films: Fritz the Cat • Heavy Traffic • Coonskin • Wizards • J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings • American Pop • Hey Good Lookin' • Fire and Ice • Cool World • Cool and the Crazy • Last Days of Coney Island • Short films TV series: The Mighty Heroes • Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures • Spicy City TV specials: Christmas in Tattertown • The Butter Battle Book |
