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Mafia Comedy
Mafia comedy films are a subgenre hybrid of comedy films and crime/gangster films. Criteria Mafia comedies revolve around organized crime, often specifically the Italian-American Mafia but also other mafias or mafia-like crime groups, and a comedic plot line, usually involving a chase or a complicated situation involving gangsters or organized crime. Much of the humor in such films is based upon the portrayal of gangsters as ordinary people. The perceived view of gangsters is that they are tough, serious, mysterious, and often quite evil characters; so when a film portrays a side of normality to a gangster character, it can have a humorous effect. Crime/gangster films typically involve many comedic moments, especially during witty conversations between gang members. This can be seen in such films as ''Goodfellas'', ''Casino'', ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'', ''Pulp Fiction'', and '' Snatch''. Examples of mafia comedy *''Some Like It Hot'' *'' Mafioso'' *'' The Gang Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subgenre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other forms of art or entertainment, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria, yet genres can be aesthetic, rhetorical, communicative, or functional. Genres form by conventions that change over time as cultures invent new genres and discontinue the use of old ones. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions. Stand-alone texts, works, or pieces of communication may have individual styles, but genres are amalgams of these texts based on agreed-upon or socially inferred conventions. Some genres may have rigid, strictly adhered-to guidelines, while others may show great flexibility. Genre began as an absolute classification system for ancient Greek literature, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (film)
''The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight'' is a 1971 American crime comedy film directed by James Goldstone and written by Waldo Salt, based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Jimmy Breslin, which in turn was based on the life of gangster Joe Gallo. The film stars Jerry Orbach, Leigh Taylor-Young, Jo Van Fleet, Lionel Stander, Robert De Niro and Irving Selbst. The film was released on December 22, 1971, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Plot Kid Sally Palumbo (Jerry Orbach) grows jealous of his older, mobster boss Baccala (Lionel Stander), who has little respect for the crew Palumbo commands. Baccala allows Kid Sally to supervise a six-day bicycle race (for the purposes of keeping the money generated), and among the 12 Italian cyclists brought into the city is Mario Trantino (Robert De Niro), a budding thief. When the bicycle race does not take place due to outside interference, Sally is demoted to serving Baccala as a chauffeur, and Trantino stays in New York City to run his own cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Analyze This
''Analyze This'' is a 1999 American mafia comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, who co-wrote the screenplay with playwright Kenneth Lonergan, and Peter Tolan. The plot follows a crisis-stricken mafioso (Robert De Niro) who solicits the assistance of a reluctant psychiatrist (Billy Crystal). ''Analyze This'' was given a wide release by Warner Bros. Pictures and Roadshow Entertainment on March 5, 1999, grossing $176.9 million worldwide, and received positive reviews. Due to its success, it was followed by the sequel '' Analyze That'' in 2002. Plot Mob boss Paul Vitti and his ''consigliere'' Manetta are discussing an upcoming meeting and the Mafia's present-day problems over lunch. Just as Manetta warns Paul to look out for Primo Sindone (an up-and-coming mafioso who wants to be '' capo di tutti capi''), gunmen drive past and kill Manetta. Paul narrowly escapes. Psychiatrist Ben Sobel is stressed: his son from his first marriage spies on his sessions, his patients are not cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jane Austen's Mafia!
''Mafia!'', also known as ''Jane Austen's Mafia!'', is a 1998 American crime comedy film directed by Jim Abrahams and starring Jay Mohr, Lloyd Bridges (in one of his final films), Olympia Dukakis and Christina Applegate. The film spoofs Francis Ford Coppola's '' Godfather'' series and various other mafia films, notably Martin Scorsese's ''Casino'' (1995). It also parodies films in other genres, ranging from ''Forrest Gump'' to ''Il Postino'' and ''The English Patient''. Plot Like the 1974 film '' The Godfather Part II'', the narrative of ''Mafia!'' consists of a series of flashbacks interwoven with the main plot. Tony is the son of a prominent Mafia don, Vincenzo Armani Windbreaker Cortino. As the film opens, Tony introduces the main thread when he exits a Vegas casino and walks to his car, accompanied by a voiceover explaining his philosophy of life. When he starts the car, it explodes. The story then regresses more than half a century to describe the boyhood of Tony's father ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mickey Blue Eyes
''Mickey Blue Eyes'' is a 1999 romantic comedy crime film directed by Kelly Makin. Hugh Grant stars as Michael Felgate, an English auctioneer living in New York City who becomes entangled in his soon-to-be father-in-law's mafia connections. Several of the minor roles are played by actors later featured in ''The Sopranos''. The film's title comes from Michael being forced to impersonate a gangster, who is spontaneously named "Kansas City Little Big Mickey Blue Eyes"; coincidentally, it is also a play on "Jimmy Blue Eyes," nickname of real-life mobster Vincent Alo. Later on, the film served as an inspiration for 2007 Bollywood film ''Welcome''. The film was released on August 20, 1999. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $57 million against its $36 million budget. Plot Michael Felgate is an English auctioneer living in New York City where he manages the Cromwell auction house. He proposes marriage to his girlfriend Gina Vitale, but is disheartened to be turned dow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Married To The Mob
''Married to the Mob'' is a 1988 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, and Alec Baldwin. Pfeiffer plays Angela de Marco, a gangster's widow from Brooklyn, opposite Modine as the undercover FBI agent assigned the task of investigating her mafia connections. The film was released on August 19, 1988, by Orion Pictures. It earned positive reviews from critics and earned several accolades; Pfeiffer was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, and Stockwell was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Plot Angela de Marco is the wife of Long Island mafia up-and-comer "Cucumber" Frank de Marco, who gets violently dispatched by his Don, Tony "The Tiger" Russo, when he is discovered in a compromising situation with the latter's mistress Karen. Angela wants to escape the criminal underworld with her son, but is harassed by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harlem Nights
''Harlem Nights'' is a 1989 American crime comedy-drama film starring and directed by Eddie Murphy, who also wrote. The film co-stars Richard Pryor, Michael Lerner, Danny Aiello, Redd Foxx (in his last film appearance before his death in 1991), Della Reese, and Murphy's older brother Charlie. The film was released theatrically on November 17, 1989, by Paramount Pictures. The film tells the story of "Sugar" Ray and Vernest "Quick" Brown as a team running a nightclub in the late 1930s in Harlem while contending with gangsters and corrupt police officials. ''Harlem Nights'' was Eddie Murphy's only directorial effort. He had always wanted to direct and star in a period piece, as well as work with Pryor, whom he considered his greatest influence in stand-up comedy. Reviews of the film were panned. Nonetheless, the film was a financial success, grossing $95 million against a $30 million budget. It has since been regarded as a cult classic. Plot In 1918 Harlem, small-time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Freshman (1990 Film)
''The Freshman'' is a 1990 American satirical crime comedy film directed and written by Andrew Bergman and starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick with Bruno Kirby, Penelope Ann Miller, and Frank Whaley. The plot revolves around a young New York film student's entanglement in an illicit business of offering exotic and endangered animals as specialty food items, including his being tasked with delivering a Komodo dragon for this purpose. The film received positive reviews from critics. Plot Clark Kellogg leaves his mother Liz and environmental activist stepfather Dwight in Vermont to go to New York University (NYU) to study film. After arriving at Grand Central Terminal, he is approached by Victor Ray, who at first offers to carry Clark's bags, then offers a ride. As soon as Clark steps out of the car, Victor drives off with Clark's luggage still in the trunk. Clark tells his instructor at NYU Professor Fleeber, who uses books he has written as required study, about losing h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corky Romano
''Corky Romano '' is a 2001 American mafia comedy film starring Chris Kattan, Fred Ward, Vinessa Shaw, Chris Penn, and Peter Berg. The movie was produced by Robert Simond, directed by Rob Pritts, and was written by David Garrett and Jason Ward. In the movie, Kattan plays the title character, a veterinarian who is forced by his mobster family to infiltrate the local FBI facility to steal evidence incriminating his father, Mafia boss Francis A. "Pops" Romano ( Peter Falk), of racketeering charges. It opened in theaters on October 12, 2001. Plot Veterinary technician Corky Romano ( Chris Kattan), banished from his family after the death of his mother, is unaware of their criminal connections until he receives a call from his father "Pops" ( Peter Falk), a Mafia crime lord. Indicted on racketeering charges and knowing the strong case against him, Pops has concluded the only solution is to destroy the FBI’s evidence. At the family mansion, a bedridden Pops convinces Corky to infi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wise Guys (1986 Film)
''Wise Guys'' is a 1986 American black comedy crime film directed by Brian De Palma and produced by Aaron Russo from a screenplay written by George Gallo and Norman Steinberg. It stars Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo as two small-time mobsters from Newark, New Jersey, and features Harvey Keitel, Ray Sharkey, Lou Albano, Dan Hedaya, and Frank Vincent. Plot Italian American Harry Valentini and his Jewish friend and next-door neighbor Moe Dickstein occupy the bottom rung of Newark Mafia boss Anthony Castelo's gang. Making a living by doing Castelo's lowest jobs (such as looking after his goldfish, testing out bullet-proof jackets, or checking the boss's car for bombs) the two men dream of opening the world's first Jewish-Italian delicatessen. However, they get little to no respect from their boss or his subordinates, who frequently ridicule them. They accompany Frank "The Fixer" Acavano, one of Castelo's top men and a violent, heavyset psychopath, to Meadowlands Racetrack to place a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Blue Heaven (1990 Film)
''My Blue Heaven'' is a 1990 American crime comedy film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Nora Ephron, and starring Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, and Joan Cusack. This is the third film in which Martin and Moranis starred together. It has been noted for its relationship to ''Goodfellas'', which was released one month later. Both films are based on the life of Henry Hill, although the character is renamed "Vincent 'Vinnie' Antonelli" in ''My Blue Heaven''. ''Goodfellas'' was based on the book '' Wiseguy'' by Nicholas Pileggi, while the screenplay for ''My Blue Heaven'' was written by Pileggi's wife Nora Ephron, and much of the research for both works was done in the same sessions with Hill. Plot Vinnie Antonelli is a former mobster recently inducted into the Witness Protection Program with his wife, Linda. The two are under the watchful eye of federal agent Barney Coopersmith. Vinnie and Barney soon find common ground when both of their wives leave them due to their lifestyles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Whole Nine Yards (film)
''The Whole Nine Yards'' is a 2000 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and distributed by Warner Bros. It was written by Mitchell Kapner and stars Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Natasha Henstridge. Its story follows a mild-mannered dentist as he travels to Chicago to inform a mob boss about the whereabouts of his new neighbor, a former hitman with a price on his head. The film was produced by Morgan Creek Productions, Franchise Pictures, Rational Packaging, and Lansdown Films and was released on February 18, 2000. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $106 million. A sequel, ''The Whole Ten Yards'', was released in 2004. Plot Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky is a likable Quebec dentist from Chicago, but is hated by his wife Sophie and mother-in-law. Oz's assistant Jill jokingly asks him to name a price to have Sophie disappear. Oz meets a new neighbor, and realizes he is Jimmy "the Tulip" Tudeski, an infamous Chicago ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
