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It would be difficult to find a more politically appropriate film in theaters than Mark Nistico’s Blue Collar Boys. Shot in a harsh New Jersey winter, the drama, as the title suggests, is a riveting study of the blue-collar class that is too often misrepresented in higher-budget productions. Tough realism propels the story forward as the audience roots for Charlie Redkin, a 27-year-old construction worker who helps out his father, a contractor. At first, stereotypical New Jersey cliches may be off-putting, distancing the audience from the characters. Slowly, however, Nistico draws the viewer in by revealing troubling underlying family dynamics and Charlie’s intense personal struggles, which he shares with his friends. These deep-set human problems go some way to explaining the crime and violence that pervade the film. Here, politicians are imbeciles and bosses are cruel and heartless; the only logical action is to pummel them in the face. New Jersey-born Nistico, who directed, produced and wrote Blue Collar Boys, has created a story with convincing naturalism, giving it universal appeal. The film, with its shoestring budget, isn’t technically perfect — no million dollar camera used here. But in the end, Nistico seems to have achieved what he wanted: He validates the question, If the American dream was stolen, wouldn’t you want to steal it back?- LA Weekly, Kristina Bravo

​BLUE COLLAR BOYS – It’s class warfare from the losers’ point of view in this grim and surly first time feature by Mark Nistico whose film is a relentless, thought-provoking drama about the Redkins, a working class family in New Jersey struggling to survive in the house building industry during this recession. The language is unapologetically not PC with homophobic and racist language spilling with every family argument at the dinner table, and every taunt at the local bar. Everyone snipes at everyone with hate and resentment. It’s a gritty drama about the suffering of America’s working stiffs. Imagine an episode of Jersey Shore without any eye candy, humor or sex appeal as they hit every obstacle imaginable: No job, tough building codes, bar fights, no medical insurance, plummeting property values. One brother hopes for a way out of the family business – he despairs that his father, at the age of 53, is still digging ditches as a contractor. Another brother is fine with the status quo. A cousin wants to get high. Middle class customers with BMWs in the driveway treat the Redkin family like crap. Blue Collar Boys is an accomplishment – grim poetry about the current recession with a bleak message that the working class can only be pushed so far. The movie eerily predicts the occupy movement!  Blue Collar Boys is a searing reflection of our times. - Brave New Hollywood, Harrison Cheung 

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