Having grown up in Queens in the 1970's, everything in this film hits home. I am sure anyone that grew up in any of the 5 boro's can appreciate it.

The music is what we listened to on AM radio, the TV shows, children's street games, sitting on the stoop steps, kids teasing their friends and neighbors are all something we did at that time.

The Carmichael kids in front of the TV singing along to the Partridge Family "I Woke up in Love this Morning", Walt Frazier being IT when it came to basketball. How many of us sat doing the same things? The kids fighting with each other are brother sister typical things.

But the film also shows the problems a family endures when financial strains hit. The father is a musician who wants to write and play classical music to audiences who can appreciate it. This becomes a burden when his wife is the one working as a teacher paying the bills. Domestic issues put a strain on their relationship as they get into who used to pay the bills and who's paying them now.

Mom getting the kids up in the middle of the night for not cleaning up, you can understand her frustration being the breadwinner, mom and everything else. When she complains later on that she is tired, you will have to watch the film to see why.

Sit back and enjoy a trip back in time when life was a lot simpler. Even Spike and his friend dabbling in glue sniffing isn't so bad compared to what is going on now.

Ahhh who can forget the good Ol' days of Spike Lee films that had heart as well as insight? Who can forget this gem? Crooklyn is loosely based on Spike Lee's life growing up. Its mostly a story that mostly details the struggles of a family growing up in Brooklyn as seen through the eyes of Troy(played by Zelda Harris). There are beautiful performances to be seen here. Alfre Woodard's presence is felt as the stern but loving mother of four kids and Delroy Lindo's is great as the father who is also dealing with pressure as a struggling musician and trying to pay the rent on time. They go through the normal strife that any black family has to go through in poor areas but they still find a way to maintain. I remember as a kid that the last scene with the mom passing on had me choked up. Troy and her brother holding hands at the reception for the funeral was a touching scene too. They drove each other crazy but it was still love in the end. Crooklyn has brief moments of awareness like one scene in particular: Troy's aunt comparing troy's hair to her adopted child's hair saying that the adopted child's hair was good hair and that Troy's hair was rough was a subtle form of self-hatred but most people wouldn't pick up on that. Of course Spike Lee has to make an appearance in the movie. He plays a junkie who chases kids around trying to steal money from them. In short Crooklyn stands out as one the best dramas of all time and one of Spike Lee's best work. The characters are ones that you care about, their struggles are real and anybody who has been there can also relate. Two thumbs up for Spike Lee's work of art on film.

It's 1973 Brooklyn. Struggling musician Woody Carmichael (Delroy Lindo) and his school teacher wife Carolyn (Alfre Woodard) head a rambunctious family of five kids. It's a neighborhood of wild characters and loud personalities.

Spike Lee delivers a vibrant vision of his 1970's Brooklyn with flamboyant characters. It would have been nice if the movie could concentrate on one of the kids and have that kid explode cinematically. The girl comes closest although it may be due to the fact that she's the only girl and she had a shoplifting story by herself. The boys tend to blend together. The movie does need a clearer narrative plot to drive the story. It would be helpful to foreshadow the big turn in the family. Overall, there is something touching about Spike painting a picture of his roots.