Director Garry Marshall knows a thing or two about time travel.
His ’70s era sitcom “Happy Days” brought us back to the ’50s, and Marshall revved up his time machine once more for the 1984 drama “The Flamingo Kid.”
The film casts Matt Dillon as a rough around the edges lad from ’60s-era Brooklyn who gets a taste of high society. It’s an easily digested tale brimming with sharp period details and Marshall’s penchant for fluffy story arcs.
It’s Dillon who matters most here. He’s terrific as a young man whose value system collides with the new world he’s thrust into during one memorable summer.
Dillon plays Jeffrey, a fledgling college student who catches a break en route to a boring summer job. He’s hired as a parking attendant at a swanky summer resort called El Flamingo. Jeffrey immediately fits in despite his fish out of water status. He’s handsome, ebullient and knows just enough to win over the locals.
Better yet, he charms a pretty rich girl (Janet Jones) as well as her uncle (Richard Crenna), a power broker who spends his days cleaning up at the gin rummy tables.
Will Jeffrey succumb to the get rich quick possibilities dangled before him? Or will his blue-collar father (Marshall regular Hector Elizondo) hold sway over Jeffrey’s future? And, most importantly, can Jeffrey learn which fork to use at a fancy dinner?
“Kid” packs more period subtleties than most films set in the ’60s, the soundtrack’s all too obvious song selection notwithstanding. Marshall knows this turf – just look at how Jeffrey dresses up for dinner with Jones’ character but bungles the ensemble by wearing white tennis socks.
Dillon, for his part, blossoms from wide-eyed teen to savvy young adult without us seeing his process, a shift negotiated despite some clunky plot turns along the way. Marshall sets up some wonderful cultural clashes only to pivot away at the last minute. We get a pat gin game to help underscore the themes at play, and Jeffrey’s tight-knit family crumbles a bit too easily for the sake of escalating tension.
Even when it stumbles, “The Flamingo Kid” serves up warm, well-earned ’60s nostalgia with perhaps the most complete performance of Dillon’s still thriving career.
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