Next Stop, Greenwich Village is a 1976 comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Mazursky, loosely inspired by his own young adulthood.
In 1953, Larry Lapinsky (Lenny Baker) is a young Jewish man who leaves his family home in Brooklyn for the bohemian enclave of Manhattan's Greenwich Village, to the loud consternation of his mother Fay (Shelley Winters). She might be even more upset if she knew that he was having sex with his girlfriend Sarah (Ellen Greene), with no plans to get married.
Larry wants to make it as an actor, and it's readily apparent that he's always performing. For the time being, he pays the rent by making juice cocktails in a health food restaurant. In between he spends a lot of time with Sarah and their friends, a colorful and volatile bunch.
The only starring role for Lenny Baker prior to his untimely death in 1982, the film also features Lois Smith, Christopher Walken, Antonio Fargas, and Jeff Goldblum in supporting roles, while Bill Murray and Vincent Schiavelli have brief cameos.
This film contains examples of:
- The '50s: Set in 1953, with a lot of period references to Marlon Brando and the Rosenbergs, as well as a bebop-influenced score from Bill Conti.
- Author Avatar: Larry is one for Paul Mazursky, although the family backgrounds are a little different. (e.g. the Mazurskys came from Ukraine, not Poland.)
- Brutal Honesty: The "truth game" that Robert proposes at Larry's rent party is meant to be an example. Robert himself confronts an artist friend with allegations that he's repeating himself, while his torch-carrying friend Connie starts in on Robert's womanizing ways before the game is interrupted by Larry's visiting parents.
- Creator Cameo: Paul Mazursky appears as the casting director for Larry's audition film.
- Do Wrong, Right: A cop at the El station where Larry is blowing off some steam in the middle of the night tells him he's keeping the neighbors up. He also critiques Larry's impressions.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Connie could be seen as a Rare Female Example towards Robert. She gives him plenty of opportunities and is there when he actually does propose a tryst near the movie's end, but doesn't object to him seducing other women left and right while mostly ignoring her feelings for him.
- Jewish Mother: Larry's mother Fay is an archetypical example: loving, overprotective, guilt-inducing, and emotional in a way that makes her the center of attention. Larry has an imagine spot where he sees her wowing his acting class with song and dance.
- No Social Skills: Clyde Baxter, Goldblum's actor character, is a smooth talker, but his aggressiveness repeatedly gets him stalled in or kicked out of auditions and screen tests.
- Title Drop: Larry yells out "Next stop, Greenwich Village" as the conductor in a party game of subway.
- Twofer Token Minority: Bernstein Chandler is both black and very Camp Gay. But, despite his (assumed) first name, he is not Jewish.
