A personal statement from the film's main collaborators, WENT TO CONEY ISLAND ON A MISSION FROM GOD, BE BACK BY FIVE follows two New Yorkers as they embark on a search for their former best friend when they hear he's become homeless and insane. Daniel (Jon Cryer) and Stan (Rick Stear) grew up together in New York City, along with Richie (Rafael Baez), a smooth-talking, self-proclaimed ladies man. In the present day, Stan drags Daniel out of work when he hears that Richie is now roaming the boardwalk of Coney Island. Together, the friends embark on a journey through the cold, deserted beach town looking for their friend. Along the way, they meet a cast of quirky characters who teach them valuable lessons about themselves. By the time they catch up with Richie, a series of poignant flashbacks makes the reunion that much more tragic and sobering. Actor Jon Cryer (HIDING OUT) and director Richard Schenkman teamed up to write the script, which contains a healthy blend of innocent childhood memories and dramatic present-day situations, culminating in Stan's epiphany--that it might not be too late to clean up his alcohol-soaked, debt-ridden life. As the troubled Richie, Baez steals the show.