Tomorrow’s Today

Tomorrow’s Today follows a small-time semi-reformed gangster, Charlie Boy (Greg Kritikos), as he navigates the mean streets of the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York. Charlie Boy is always a little short on cash, as are his friends. So he tries to shore up funds by doing stand-up comedy and running cons to grift people. He learns street magic from his friend Dave the Magician (Dave Cremin) and is a generally beloved neighborhood character, despite being a bit of a low-life.

Charlie Boy was much more deeply involved in organized crime but has separated himself from that life after nearly going to prison. He now keeps his illegal activities at a smaller scale and keeps away from the riskier jobs. He stays clear of the law and the more dangerous mob figures. That is until Charlie Boy’s loser friend Tommy G (Annunziato Carbone) drags him against his will into a plot to rob a local liquor store to pay off gambling debts.

The complication they encounter is that the mobster Tommy owes the money to is the same guy who owns the liquor store. This mistake puts the lives of Charlie Boy, his friends, and his family at risk, and he must decide how far he will go to resolve the situation. Mixed into these dire circumstances are humorous idiosyncrasies. For example, Tommy G is absolutely convinced that he’s a dead ringer for Tom Hardy (he isn’t), and comedy gold is mined from his insistence that he could be an actor because of that resemblance.

“…until Charlie Boy’s loser friend…drags him against his will into a plot to rob a local liquor store to pay off gambling debts.”

Shifting between drama and comedy, Tomorrow’s Today comes very close to being just a shabby repeat of better gangster movies. The tropes and characters are all cliches. From Charlie Boy’s lovable goombah to Tommy G’s perpetual henchman with a gambling problem, too dumb to get out of his own way. So, in the vernacular of Astoria, let’s face it, this is almost low-budget Sopranos. There’s even a strip club that is essentially Bada Bing, except with no nudity. Many of the names include descriptors, such as “Big Angie Bossano” (Dominick Martini). The Italian mob stereotypes are tired and almost offensive but never quite cross that line. The quality of the performances elevates the film and saves it from that fate.

There are annoying breaks in the action, with interstitial establishing shots of Astoria in between scenes. Charlie Boy waves and greets people. A woman with a dog smiles at the camera. People are enjoying a nice day in the park. Typically the pace of a film benefits from the establishing shots being either at the beginning or directly related to the action. Having them throughout is jarring. There are also some clips of Kritikos doing his stand-up, which he’s very good at, but has nothing to do with the story. It’s a challenge to get past these flaws to care about the story and the characters, but we do, so it works.

One of the reasons we care is that the film pivots on Charlie Boy’s charm, which is pretty much just Kritikos being himself. He is incredibly personable, and without his appeal, there would be no reason to bother with this production. He breathes life into the story and the character. There are a couple of fantastic cameos as well. Kelly LeBrock plays a small part as Charlie’s ex-wife, and Burt Young, best known as Paulie from Rocky, shows up as Charlie’s friend Luca. Tomorrow’s Today isn’t full of fresh ideas; you’ve seen all of this before. But the movie magic is still here on the strength of the performances and makes the film well worth your time.