Critically-lauded, but gloppy-looking, abrasive coming-of-age story about a Jewish kid in 1940's Montreal who hustles his way out of the ghetto. Richard Dreyfuss snuck this in between "American Graffitti" and "Jaws", but his performance is one-note and not very appealing (the film did poor business, and when it premiered on HBO, after Dreyfuss attained success, no one knew where the picture came from). Supporting cast (Jack Warden, Randy Quaid, and Denholm Elliott among them) fair a bit better, but director Ted Kotcheff seems more interested in creating a realistically squalid atmosphere rather than concentrating on building reasonably enjoyable characters. Screenplay by Mordecai Richler, from his own novel, sets up the pieces but provides very little pay-off. *1/2 from ****