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by James McKernan
This gangster spoof misses more often than it hits
Throwing its hat in with the other comedies of this summer is Mafia!. This spoof runs the gambit
of the "Italian gangster movie", drawing material from such movies as The Godfather, Goodfellas,
and Casino.
I sat down to this movie in great anticipation. Not only was it written and directed by Jim
Abrahams (Airplane!, Hotshots), it was also set in my hometown of Reno, Nevada! Well, as the
movie went on, anticipation melted to anticipointment. Don't get me wrong, the movie is funny.
But it's just not the roll-on-the-floor schtick that made Abrahams previous outings classics.
Add to this the fact that the movie is set in Vegas (which is fine for the plot, but the casino
in the film, the Peppermill, is in Reno; hence why I thought it was set there from seeing the
previews). Am I being overly anal? Of course! It's my home, for chrissakes.
With scenes in an Italian town named Salmonella (the home of warm mayonnaise) and a classic
comedy standby like obvious subtitling ("Hooray!" as the crowd on screen cheers), most will
find this film amusing. Jay Mohr is quite funny, and Christina Applegate gives a good turn,
but probably the biggest reason to see this film is the last performance of a great comedian,
Lloyd Bridges. It's funny, but I wouldn't mob the theatre.
James McKernan, 1998
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