I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Highly Overrated But Still Good

An absolute waste of money

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

LACKAWANNA BLUES is an entertaining, engrossing, emotionally-charged HBO-TV movie based on the childhood memories of actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson (who also appears in a small role). This joyous motion picture experience is centered around Santiago-Hudson's childhood guardian, Rachel "Nanny" Crosby, a strong, big-hearted black woman who ran a boarding house in upstate New York during the 1950's. Nanny was a one-woman social service organization whose boarding house was filled with drunks, derelicts, cripples, drug addicts, misfits, and everyone else in town who needed a hand-up instead of a hand-out. The crux of the story revolves around Nanny's relationship with young Ruben (beautifully played by Marcus Franklin),a boy whose divorced parents were unable to raise the boy properly so Nanny took him in. S. Epatha Merkeson, who has been wasted for years in the thankless role of Lieutenant Van Buren on NBC's LAW & ORDER, turns in a powerhouse performance as Nanny, the neighborhood mother-figure whose boarding house became a symbol for the downtrodden black folks in her town. Merkeson is nothing short of magnificent, in a performance that earned her a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award. Merkeson is backed by an impressive all-star cast that includes Terrance Howard (brilliant and heartbreaking as Nanny's husband), Louis Gossett Jr., Rosie Perez, Jimmy Smits, Delroy Lindo, Macy Gray, Michael K. Williams, Jeffrey Wright, Henry Simmons, Patricia Wettig, Ernie Hudson, Mos Def, and Hill Harper as the adult Ruben. Colorful and exciting, beautifully photographed and exquisitely scored, this is one of a kind motion picture experience that works on all levels, but if for no other reason, is worth seeing for the electrifying starring performance by S. Epatha Merkeson, who is given the role of a lifetime and makes the most of it.

I'm so glad HBO re-played "Lakawanna Blues" as I had heard so much about the film and was not disappointed. In bits and pieces, I saw so many people who touched my life - my grandmother, my aunts and uncles and their friends. These black men and women were the rock of the community in the midst of fighting their own demons and their individual struggle for dignity during segregation.'Lakawanna Blues" conjures memories of Bronzeville and Little Harlem in places like Chicago and Buffalo and reminds us that the lessons learned from the old folk need to be passed on so that the soul of our people and the spirit that has defined our experience in America never dies.

Lackawanna Blues is and excellent movie. The casting was perfect. Every actor and actress was perfectly suited for the role they played. Their chemistry together was amazing. The acting was superb. I felt as if i knew the characters. I could almost 'feel' them. They reminded me of people that I knew as a child growing up in the 50's and 60's. Oh, the memories!! My personal belief is that this movie should have been on the big screen for all to see. I have watched this movie so many times, that I can almost recite the lines as the characters are saying them. I can't even list my favorite part, because I have SO MANY favorite parts. Thank you for bringing back a part of my youth that I never see in this day and age...and that is Black people loving each other, looking out for each other, respecting each other, caring about each other, and doing all we can to help each other. Gotta go now. I have to go watch it again.

"Lackawanna Blues" takes place in the 1950's and tells the story of a young "black" (well, actually, black and Latino) boy whose parents are unable to take care of him, so he is reared by the neighborhood "Mama" who owns a boarding house full of eccentric people. The movie works when the story focuses on the two main characters--the boy and his adoptive mother. Unfortunately so many characters weave in and out of the movie that I found them downright distracting. But the biggest problem with the film was the MTV-style direction by George C. Wolfe. Okay, I know I'm not watching a PBS Masterpiece Theatre production, but does the camera have to keep moving and jumping around so much? This constant shifting actually distances the viewer from the performers on screen. The performances of S. Epatha Merkerson as the adoptive mother and Marcus Carl Franklin as the young boy are generally very good, but "Lackawanna Blues" was good material that should have been allowed to breath.