Row Your Boat

Story Line: Homeless and broke, ex-con Jamey Meadows (Bon Jovi) endures life on the city streets before winning a job as a census taker. In this guise, he meets Asian immigrant Chun Hua (Ling), a young mother who later figures prominently in a scheme instigated by Jamey's hoodlum brother (Forsythe).

Bottom Line: A mean-streets drama somewhat misleadingly marketed as an action film, Row Your Boat stands head and shoulders above York/Maverick's homegrown product and, in fact, is one of the better domestic indies of recent months. It's not flawless by any means; some scenes are overwritten, the pacing is uneven and classy Jill Hennessy is sorely miscast as Forsythe's gum-smacking moll. However, there's plenty of raw, edgy material, especially in early sequences showing a quite-good Bon Jovi wielding a squeegee and negotiating the city's treacherous homeless shelters. Mitchell drags in melodrama by the heels to generate third-act suspense, and Bon Jovi sacrifices himself to save his lover's child. Downbeat ending aside, this Boat is generally shipshape and won't have any trouble navigating the rental waters. --Ed Hulse