Married To The Mob
Jonathan Demme may (rightfully so) seem like a one-hit wonder to many people for making the unforgettable masterpiece Silence Of The Lambs, but a look at the rest of his resume reveals this earlier work from 1988, a fun Mafia spoof that ironically is only hampered by its director’s reluctance to really cut loose and make it the great black comedy it could have been. It IS anchored by three great main performances, a clever witty script, and a slew of good actors in various supporting roles, cameos, and bit parts. Michelle Pfeiffer (perhaps the most gorgeous she’s ever looked with brown hair) plays an unhappy Mafia wife whose husband (Alec Baldwin on the cusp of stardom) is bumped off in a mob hit, leading her to renounce the spoiled, shrewish lifestyle she has known and head to the big city to make an honest living with her son, only to find that leaving the crime syndicate behind is easier said than done. Pfeiffer handily wins the viewer’s heart within the first ten minutes and never lets go, her beautiful eyes conveying warmth, vulnerability, and frustration equally at her various situations she encounters, and truly makes her Angela DeMarco a comic heroine for the ages. Also on top of the game is Dean Stockwell (in his only Oscar-nominated performance for Supporting Actor) as Tony “The Tiger” Russo, the sleazy yet suave mob boss (and killer of Pfeiffer’s husband) who shows no scruples when it comes to moving in on the grieving widow and using every trick up his sleeve to drag her back to the mob life, in many ways a minor gem of a performance from the legendary Stockwell. And then there is Mercedes Ruehl as Connie, wife of Tony The Tiger (and the only thing he truly fears), a nightmare of a Mafia wife whose obsessive nature to stopping her husband from cheating on her makes for some of the film’s best moments. Besides these three virtuoso turns, we also get Matthew Modine doing a good job as the kindhearted FBI man running surveillance on Pfieffer who ultimately falls for her as well, even if it proves that Modine’s range as an actor is basically limited to playing a likable dork. However, the chemistry with his leading lady is there, as we can understand why Pfeiffer would be attracted to him after asking if he’s married and having him reply that he wouldn’t accept a date with her if he was (a refreshing change from her former life). The problem, as previously stated, is the utter lack of any real style or technique from Demme himself, directing the film in a restricted b-movie comedy way and not trying to set any kind of mood or atmosphere that could at least serve as a homage to past classic mob movies. Everything is too bright, too Day-Glo, and thus many of the darker elements of the story suffer as a result. This is especially evident with some of the more violent scenes in the film, including an attempted hit and shootout with Tony The Tiger: The violence in your average network cop show or episode of 24 is far more intense than this, with Demme not even bothering to use blood squibs when characters get riddled with bullets, almost reducing things to the level of a kids movie like Dick Tracy. Regardless, the dialogue and script are witty and entertaining, and some of the lesser roles include people like Joan Cusack, Oliver Platt, Trey Wilson (who nearly steals the movie with one line of dialogue), Chris Isaak, and even Al (Grandpa Munster) Lewis. Overall, some great acting and writing only brought down by its director’s reluctance to delve into the darker side of the material…
8/10