Synopsis

In modern Brooklyn, ambitious bus driver Ralph Kramden is determined to improve life for himself and his wife, Alice. His schemes are aided by his best friend and neighbor, Ed Norton, whose own wife, Trixie, helps keep the household afloat. As the men chase financial success through increasingly impractical plans, their marriages and friendship are tested by the consequences.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is a contemporary feature adaptation of Jackie Gleason's classic 1950s television sitcom.

• The movie updates the setting and characters while retaining the original premise of two working-class Brooklyn couples struggling to get ahead.

• Cedric the Entertainer prepared for the role by watching all 39 episodes of the original series. He aimed to suggest Gleason's performance without simply imitating it.

• Mike Epps incorporated some of Art Carney's mannerisms as a nod to the original Ed Norton.

• The project had a long development history. Savoy Pictures acquired the rights in 1993, but the production stalled before Paramount and Deep River Productions revived it.

• Parts of Ireland were used to represent New York City, adding an unusual production detail to a film strongly associated with Brooklyn.

• Released on June 10, 2005, the 90-minute comedy was made on a reported $25 million budget and earned approximately $13.2 million worldwide.

• The film received a mixed critical response, although Roger Ebert was notably favorable and argued that it respected the spirit of the original while giving the material a new identity.