Somewhere in Queens

A passion project with semiautobiographical roots, Somewhere in Queens is a heartfelt tribute to its working-class setting.

The earnest directorial debut of actor Ray Romano injects some quirky charms into an otherwise overly familiar comic look at generational strife and dysfunctional family dynamics.

Romano plays Leo, a dutiful employee with the successful family construction business. It’s a close-knit Italian American clan whose outspoken members gather for weekly fireworks around the dinner table.

Leo is pragmatic and friendly if timid, the target of bullying by his boss and younger brother (Sebastian Maniscalco) and subject to taunts from his hypercritical father (Tony Lo Bianco).

He’s also a devoted father who lives with his sardonic wife (Laurie Metcalf) and teenage son, a star basketball player nicknamed “Sticks” (Jacob Ward) who shares Leo’s social awkwardness. “He’s a good kid,” Leo explains. “For some reason, he just doesn’t feel comfortable out in the world.”

However, friction arises when Sticks is brought out of his shell by a feisty new girlfriend (Sadie Stanley) while simultaneously having a chance to earn a college athletic scholarship, which would disrupt any plans to follow in Leo’s professional footsteps.

Meanwhile, Leo’s burgeoning friendship with a single woman (Jennifer Esposito) whose home he’s renovating coincides with a health scare for his wife, which both explains her penchant for biting sarcasm and throws his his reliable routine into sudden disarray.

From there, the film suffers from calculations and contrivances as secrets are revealed, benefiting from the authenticity of the characters and chemistry among the actors.

Somewhere in Queens immerses us in the fabric of its neighborhood, even if it hardly breaks any new ground. Romano’s deeply felt performance captures a man whose perpetual optimism masks insecurities regarding an uncertain future for himself and his loved ones.

With its abundant quirks and neuroses, Romano’s screenplay seems to borrow from the Woody Allen playbook, except from an Italian perspective rather than a Jewish one.

The film finds its emotional depth in exploring subtle changes in family bonds and parental expectations that resonate beyond ethnic and geographic boundaries. Still, too often relying on cliches and stereotypes, its conflicts and catharses feel more forced in the final act.

Rated R, 106 minutes.