Went to Hollywood On A Mission from God…Had Lunch

by Mark Rabinowitz

I made it to the Hollywood Canteen just about on time and lo and behold, I was the first to arrive...set to lunch with Jon Cryer (writer, producer, star) and Richard Schenkman (director, writer, producer) of "Went to Coney Island on a Mission From God...Be Back By Five" -- Jon had already warned me that we only had an hour for lunch as he's rehearsing his new FOX sitcom ("Getting Personal").

The Hollywood Canteen looks very unassuming, but inside it harkens back to 1945. Sitting on the patio looking for Richard we passed the time talking about his TV show (very funny) and where he's living (none of your damn business!) and how he hates being referred to in the press as an L.A. actor when he's very much a New Yorker. He also hates it when journalists use the word "duck" in the title of an article about him...

Jon talked up the "amazing Chinese chicken salad" but settled on a chicken burger, and I opted for risotto with shrimp. Richard showed and we moved into chatting about the new film. Apparently while they were in post production, there was a mishap with one of the companies that was doing work on the film. It went out of business mid-job, and the filmmakers had to stage a daring midnight raid to rescue their tapes. "We thought we saved the tapes," remarked Jon, "We went in and got (them) and were feeling all Mission Impossible and everything -- we get out...the tapes are blank!" So we had to reconstruct everything, "continued Jon. Richard added, "Luckily, the people who are working with me on this new film ("October 22") are really wonderful, and they gave us a fair price."

Very few people had seen the film as of our lunch date, so the pair were sufficiently anxious. A few months ago I saw an Avid dump on a small TV in Jon's New York apartment, and Jon reminded me of this, laughing, "You're it." He continued, "If we all die in a horrible wreck and the thing is destroyed you have to carry the greatness of this movie!" "You'll have to describe it to people," Richard interjected, "The great movie that no one ever saw. Like the Beach Boys' 'Smile' album."

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The film is not what you'd expect if you've seen their previous effort, "The Pompatus of Love." Not a lot of twenty-somethings philosophizing about life and love, but rather an uncompromising look at relationships and commitment, and how we each deal with them. Much of the film takes place on a very stark winter day at a virtually empty Coney Island, with a pair of old high school friends looking for a third who is apparently homeless and living near the boardwalk. After Saturday's world premiere screening at the DGA, the filmmakers provided hot dogs (chicken and turkey), Yoo-Hoo, and Dr. Brown's Cel-Rey soda, all of which are featured in the film. (After all, what's Coney Island without hot dogs?) The screening went well, with most of the audience sticking around for the Q&A. A few left the theater towards the end of the session, hoping to get a jump on the hot dog line. For a change, no one asked for the film's budget. Now I've got to go wash this damn mustard off of my hands. Folks have been asking Richard if the hot dogs were really from Coney Island. His response? "Emotionally." Login to recommend this article » posted on April 20, 1998 Films to Snag Login to Leave a Comment »