If you'd like an alternative to all the blockbusterish nonsense currently at the movies, consider Went To Coney Island On A Mission From God ... Be Back By Five.

This is a low-budget movie about three friends and the passage of time. Under a deceptively simple narrative about two guys searching for their buddy, Coney Island manages to address such hefty issues as the promise of youth versus the realities of adult life.

And it's funny. Went To Coney Island On A Mission From God ... Be Back By Five begins with quick flashbacks to the '50s and the formation of a trio of friends. Daniel (Jon Cryer) does the voice-over, recounting how he meets Stan (Rick Stear) when they were both five years old.

Time marches on. As adolescents they meet Richie (Rafael Baez). By junior year at high school, they're in a rock band together, mostly to meet girls.

By the time the guys are adults, Daniel -- always plugging along -- has a proper job at a pawn shop, Stan is still with his high-school sweetheart (Ione Skye) and working at a pizza joint. Richie has more or less disappeared. When a mutual friend says he saw Richie homeless and crazy at Coney Island, Daniel and Stan go to find him.

What they find and what they learn about themselves is the real focus of Coney Island, with many details told in flashback, as required.

The film veers into sentimentality at the end, but up until then, this is a clever, rather touching undertaking. Daniel and Stan wander around Coney Island running into a wonderful array of types and characters -- an aged photographer, the anal-retentive Skee Ball guy (Frank Whaley), a broken-hearted man (Peter Gerety), a bearded lady.

Their mild-mannered adventures are often very funny and form the backdrop for an on-going conversation about the past, a conversation that could be summed up like this: What went wrong?

The humour and drama of Coney Island often make a shaky marriage, but there are many moments in the film -- on both sides -- that are magic.

Co-writers Jon Cryer and Richard Schenkman have created wonderfully real dialogue for their characters. The performances are indie understated.

Went To Coney Island On A Mission From God ... Be Back At Five is one of those small films that sort of sneaks up on you and takes you by surprise. And it's a pleasant surprise, indeed.

(This film is rated AA)

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