NightOwls of Coventry

Running time: 75 mins

In the early 70s, you could get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant. But at Marv's, you get whatever's on the plate. Like chewing gum stuck under a Formica countertop, Marv's has been a less-than-appetizing side of Cleveland's Coventry Rd. neighborhood for as long as anyone can remember. Avuncular but seedy owner-operator Marv congenially presides over a motley, faithful after-hours crowd, maintaining an extramarital affair with head waitress Grace and slipping bribes to keep health inspectors out of the kitchen.

But now the times (if not the pastrami and corned beef), they are a-changing. Marv's patrons have evolved from struggling students and elderly Jews to young anarchists and ferocious bikers; the burnt-out hippie freeloaders who protested Vietnam are giving way to proto-yuppies agitating for neighborhood improvements such as shutting down Marv's.

Into this hash-house environment comes Susan, an innocent girl trying to hold her first job, bussing tables, whilst dodging both Marv's advances and Grace's dagger eyes. Susan finds equal servings of indigestion and community among the miscreants, freeloaders and hangers-on, while the eatery's expiration date draws ever closer.

Part nostalgic comedy and part heartwarming drama, NightOwls of Coventry is a delightful romp filled with wry humor, energetic characters and cleverly written dialogue.

Excerpts from Cleveland Film Festival

Al Owens