FUN CITY HEIST

A dedicated beach bum finds his chill world upended by folks from his past—and his future.

Mo Melnick wants nothing more out of life than to plop down on his beach chair every day and rent umbrellas to Jersey Shore visitors. But Johnny Clay has a different idea about how Mo should spend his admittedly limited energy. Johnny wants to gather the members of the long-disbanded rock group Sunshine Apocalypse for a one-night reunion extravaganza at Fun City amusement park on July Fourth. Resistance proves futile—Johnny’s a force of nature, especially when he confides that he’s terminally ill—so Mo begins an awkward reunion with guys he hasn’t seen for decades, and they start rehearsing. He also has a more surprising reunion with his daughter, Janice, who’s working at the shore for the summer. Since Janice’s mom was an Apocalypse groupie who was only briefly in Mo’s life, he has little investment in the teenager. His attachment grows, however, when he learns that she’s a talented guitarist whose interest in music was sparked by listening to his old records. To no one’s surprise, Johnny’s interest in the band’s reunion takes a larcenous turn. By then, though, Mo is hooked, both by his renewed connection to his bandmates and his burgeoning paternal feelings. His tale, both funny and touching, reminds you that murder isn’t the only crime worth writing about.

Here’s hoping Kardos provides his unlikely hero with a well-deserved encore.