Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Captivating movie !

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I'm surprised I never heard of this before. It had some really funny moments. The attack goats cracked me up.

I remember when this came out in theaters... I went with my sister and cousins and NOBODY wanted to see this one. I can't remember how I convinced them to waste their money and time on this but at the end, it was a very funny experience.The movie is a delightful parody of crime movies in the likes of "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas" mainly. It parodies with black humor the distinctive situations of Italian mafia, their modus of operandi, clichés, and even makes fun of almighty mafia movies.The humor relies on scatological jokes and situations (everything about the opening "puking at the funeral" scene).Then it gets support from well written dialogs and very clever in-jokes. The acting is really good and funny. Christina Applegate demonstrates she's a fine actress. I haven't seen this movie in 11 years but I remember it as a very funny experience. Underrated unfairly.

Korean War veteran "Tony" (Jay Mohr), the son of Mafia boss "Vincenzo Armani Windbreaker Cortino" (Lloyd Bridges, in his final role before his death), is hand-picked by his retiring father to take over the family "business." However, this causes a rift between him and his Protestant, peace-loving girlfriend, "Diane" (Christina Applegate), who leaves him when it's obvious that the man she loves is not really what she thought him to be.Now, "Tony" lives the life of a mafioso, while trying to find a long-time family enemy who lost his thumb in a bizarre incident.If you are a Lloyd Bridges fan, then you have to see this only because this was his final role before his death. This film is in the same vein as the "Hot Shots" movies, which also starred him, but you will not laugh as much as you would with those films. He was a lot funnier in the "Hot Shots" movies, but does bring some pretty good laughs in this film.Surprisingly, Mohr is pretty good in his role. He is pretty much the straight man for the rest of the cast and the visual jokes (like a Vegas version of Candy Land). If you ask me, he played "Tony" somewhere between a comedic role and a more dramatic role, and did it nicely. He also did a pretty good narration, but it wasn't perfect.You get a pretty even amount of physical comedy with some comical lines all through the film -- all the way through the end of the closing credits in fact. And I suggest you actually watch the closing credits because they slipped some jokes into them. However, I felt that many of the jokes just didn't work, and found myself not laughing at them.The plot somewhat follows the one seen in "The Godfather" and relies heavily on that, and other Mafia movies. However, "The Godfather" series is the obvious inspiration for this film. However, they do slip in some jokes poking fun at more modern things like HMOs, popular children's games like Chutes and Ladders and President Bill Clinton's denial of not having a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinski.There is character development in this film, but not a whole lot. I thought a few characters could have been developed more, especially if they helped in the plot twists. Even some of the major players in this film was not greatly developed.Because the cast is mainly Italian, a lot of jokes target the Italian life. Many people may find these jokes offensive. If you ask me, these jokes are fairly tame though.This movie is not for everybody. In fact, if you haven't seen some of the greatest Mafia movies, especially the "Godfather" trilogy, you might not like this movie. Like I said earlier, there are some jokes referencing things and events we've all experienced in out lives, but this movie is for fans of the Mafia movie genre more than any other audience.Believe it or not, there is no blood in this movie despite the subject. Yes, there is some violence, but it's played for comedy. At one point in the movie, "Don Cortino" (Bridges) is riddled with bullets, but no blood comes from the wounds and the witnesses, including the band playing during the scene, thinks he is doing various dances including the Macarena. You even get a death by flowers (where we are lead into by a reference to "Forrest Gump").If you are looking for Oscar-worthy performances, this movie is absolutely not for you. Except for Mohr, you mainly get over-the-top performances from the cast. Mohr, who plays his role straight compared to the rest of the cast, and Bridges are easily the two best performances. However, Olympia Dukakis, who plays Bridges mother (she was actually 20 years younger than him at the time this film was made) stands from of the supporting cast. Other major performers were given weakly written characters, and their performances reflect that.Unlike the "Godfather" trilogy, the score here is not really memorable. You get some current music, from the time of its making and release, but nothing too spectacular worth noting by way of original music.This movie got destroyed by critics when it was finally released. But, like most movies, it's not as bad as they say. If you like the "Airplane!" and "Hot Shots" movies, you may like this one. However, I find that this one can't live up to the comic genius of those previous movies.If you ask me, I can't recommend this as a "Must See" movie, but check it out on HBO for some good laughs and because it's Bridges' final performance.

I was really looking forward to seeing this film last night as I am a huge fan of the Airplanes, Hot Shots, Police Squads, Naked Guns and Top Secret. I found this on lovefilm and thought - why have i never heard of this? I haven't laughed this hard for ages. I admire the filmmakers so much for being so clever and entertaining. The production values are really high as well, everything looks quality and well made. Older films like Airplane etc can look cheap but it adds to their charm, so it was nice to see this modern film which was hardly a blockbuster, made so well and looking like the budget was much higher.Of course not every joke tickled my funny bone, I could have done without the farting, spewing and when Lloyd Bridges get shot up but people think he's dancing.But apart from that I found it absolutely hilarious and I can't wait to see it again. Jay Mohr is so great - if you can, watch Action. It's a TV series he did, only one series but it's soooo good! Really funny and totally uncheesy like all American sitcoms feel they have to be. It's about a Hollywood producer.Anyway, back to Mafia. The writers have worked so hard, not only on the script but the visual gags, injokes and references. I love spotting a funny poster, or something in the credits. Everyone has put so much effort into making this movie the best and the funniest it could be. I was stunned by the low rating but hey, different strokes for different folks.If you are reading the comments, deciding whether or not to rent/buy this movie, I definitely think you should - especially if you are a fan of Airplane,Top Secret, Police Squad, Naked Gun, Police Academy and Hot Shots.Fun Fact! Actor Jay Mohr is allergic to poiWhat the hell is poi?