TABLE ONE

Synopsis

Bored with the New York social scene, and unable to score with women, four guys - wealthy nerd Norman (David Herman), hockey player Rowdy (Michael Rooker), and business partners Scott (Ben Shenkman) and Brock (Ezra Knight) - pool their cash to open their own restaurant, unwittingly aligning themselves with gangster Frankie Chips (Burt Young) and his slow-witted nephew Jimmy (Stephen Baldwin) in the process. Part goombah opera and part verbose character comedy, this directorial debut from veteran producer Michael Bregman lopes along casually at its unforced pace, relishing the easy banter of his script and the laconic delivery of the cast. Herman, so good on Fox's "Mad TV," becomes the eventual focus of the narrative as he clashes comically with Frankie while ineptly pursuing the fairer sex. Norman Jellybean Benitez's music supervision features a clutch of classics performed by Paul Anka.