Written by: Sean Baker & Darren Dean
Starring: Prince Adu, Karren Karagulian, Aiden Noesi, Keyali Mayaga, Kat Sanchez
Rating: [3.5/5]
Getting things done for your own sake comes with the responsibility of taking care of yourself, which makes things fairly simple, especially as an adult. However, everything shifts when adulthood begins to bear the responsibility of parenthood. Something the protagonist in this feature experiences firsthand incredibly abruptly making for a touching ode to parents and what they go through in order to make things work even if not in the best circumstance.
Working as a hustler on the streets selling counterfeit designer bags in New York City, Lucky (Prince Adu), learns suddenly from a previous lover they have a son together and she hands the boy to him to take care of for a stretch of time. With this newfound responsibility, Lucky needs to find a way to hustle not just for his own well-being but also for his very young son.
Captured with the use of a handheld camera to get right into the face of these characters in a fairly abrasive manner, The Prince of Broadway takes us directly into the life circumstance of individuals you encounter on a New York City street if you ever walk close to Times Square. Individuals selling counterfeit materials simply trying to make ends meet just like anyone else but doing it all in an illicit manner. This feature pulls back the curtain to see how these operations work through the eyes of Lucky to quite an enlightening degree. As one can imagine in an industry making money through shady means, some shady characters inevitably exist making it quite a stressful profession. Not only do Lucky and the others have to look out for police raids on their materials but also other individuals within their own industry.
Lucky’s line of work does not present the most kid-friendly environment but he needs to try to make it all work as his responsibilities have grown beyond himself into something where he has two mouths to feed. This desperation to get everything settled pushes him to hustle even more exposing himself to more risk in all eventuality because of the way he seeks to care for this new son. Something quite touching to watch especially with him being thrust into this circumstance and ultimately handling it fairly well given the demeanor in which it all occurred.
The camera use Sean Baker decides to utilize in capturing the story of this film heavily impresses because of its simplicity but also in the way it displays an authenticity occurring in the feature. We get up close and personal with the camera as we feel everything along with these characters. At times, it feels like we should not be as close, especially when Lucky gets into shouting matches with individuals within his industry or the mother of his child. The camera does not relent in pulling us close to all of this and ensuring we go on this journey with Lucky. By the end, we get the feeling we know this man through and through because of the physical closeness we have to him through this entire ordeal.
On top of the relationship he has with the mother of his child and colleagues, this narrative presents many other awkward circumstances in his life because of the baby’s introduction to his life. As one can imagine, his dating life certainly takes quite the hit when they realize he has a child and barely has the means to take care of it on top of everything else. It shines a flashlight on the demeanor of individuals and how their behavior changes upon circumstances changing. Individuals in his life begin to show their true colors in the way they speak with him and acknowledge his child.
Ultimately moving and potent, Prince of Broadway takes us into the world of street hustlers, a group of individuals typically not given much of a spotlight, which Sean Baker tends to do with his features. In this one, we see this man thrust into fatherhood and making the best of it for the good of the child and himself as a whole. This new situation in life sways him from making some different decisions in his life in both a positive and negative manner to ensure everything remains copacetic. A feature film with a closeness bringing us right into the action making a strong impact on the emotional closeness we have to these characters.
Films with Josh 