Blue Collar Boys

BLUE COLLAR BOYS: The 99% is fighting to survive.

Charlie “Red” Redkin (Gabe Fazio--The Place Beyond the Pines) is a 27-year-old construction worker whose dreams of self-improvement are thwarted when his father’s construction business starts to crumble in the hands of an unscrupulous developer (Ed Setrakian--Zodiac). We first meet Red after a night out with his friends that ends in a bar fight. Red is tired of getting arrested because of his friends’ ignorance and immaturity, but can’t seem to break away.

Red’s father, Senior (Bruce Kirkpatrick--Royal Pains, The Lovely Bones) has built up his construction business through a life of honest labor. Red works for his father and is incensed when a local home developer (Setrakian) withholds payment from Senior on a big job. In an effort to stand up for his father’s rights, Red turns violent, only making things worse. Soon, overwork, stress, and the fear of losing the family home to foreclosure bring on a fatal heart attack for Senior, leaving his business in Red’s hands. Red turns for help to his lifelong friends, led by Nazo (Kevin Interdonato--The Sopranos) and Slim (Russ Russo--The Projectionist). “The boys,” frustrated by corporate corruption and dead-end jobs, resort to drug-dealing and petty scams to get out of debt. With money finally coming in, the boys see nothing wrong with their actions. But Red still struggles to hold onto his integrity, even as he begins to wonder what integrity is worth in a world where the rich and corrupt always win. Ultimately, he is caught in a downward spiral of revenge.

Blue Collar Boys was inspired by the real life experiences of filmmaker Mark Nistico’s family, friends and co-workers in New Jersey. Nistico’s first feature film is a gritty portrayal of the true “99 percent” that resonates with critics and audiences alike. Brave New Hollywood calls Blue Collar Boys “grim poetry, a searing reflection of our times.”