Mi querido mafioso

My Blue Heaven is exactly the kind of movie you want to see after a long day of work, when you're just looking for something relaxing to spend your evening with. The movie is pretty simple and predictable, some of the gags are not too funny, but it has its good points. Steve Martin is great as an italian mobster, he plays really great. Some gags are very cool and funny, and the dialogue is many times interesting. In conclusion, a good watch. Vote: 6 out of 10.

My wife & I really enjoyed this film, and I was previewing it to see if it was appropriate for my kids because of the PG-13 rating. There really wasn't anything I found to justify the PG-13 rating. The only thing that came close was the description of a mob hit, talking about a 22 caliber bullet bouncing around inside the victim's head. But that is so brief it hardly bears mention. The rest of the movie is pure enjoyable fun, with Steve Martin as the mobster under the witness protection program who can't keep out of trouble, and Rick Moranis as the FBI agent assigned to baby-sit him. Great dialog, good middle-america footage, and well-played contrast between cardboard cookie-cutter track living as opposed to the big city life of New York.

At the time of its release, I thought this might be Steve Martin's best work. He's done so many good things that I wouldn't say what's his best anymore but he is very good in here. His Italian hoodlum accent is funny and the unique character he plays, "Vinnie Antonelli" is very entertaining to see and hear.

This isn't a laugh-out-loud-type of comedy but a pleasant one all the way through with good subtle humor. The first half of the story was much better than the second half. It gets cornier as it goes on. Martin's supporting cast - Rick Moranis and Joan Cusack - don't quite cut it as an FBI man and district attorney, respectively, being ridiculous clown-type characters but, hey, this isn't supposed to be taken seriously. Moranis' "Barney Coppersmith" is stupid but likable and Cusack's "Hannah Stubbs" is overly silly.

The language is very tame, especially for a PG-13 film. It's just a nice lighthearted comedy, worth a look or two. I saw it three times and by then, that was enough. The DVD version I saw wasn't a whole lot better than the tape with poor surround sound and a so-so transfer.

The mobster Vincent 'Vinnie' Antonelli (Steve Martin) is under the witness protection program and the FBI agent Barney Coopersmith (Rick Moranis) is assigned to take Vinnie and his wife Linda to a house in the suburbs. However their wives leave Vinnie and Barney and the agent gets closer to the gangster and befriends him. Vinnie is a bon vivant and a crook and does not keep the necessary low profile. The District Attorney Hannah Stubbs (Joan Cusack) arrests him but Barney releases him from jail since he needs to testify against the Mafia. Soon Barney falls in love with Stubbs, but Vinnie gets into many troubles calling the attention of two hit men from the Mafia. The police officer Crystal Rybak (Melanie Mayron) protects him and they also falls in love with each other. In the end, the good-hearted Vinnie becomes a prominent personality in the suburbs.

"My Blue Heaven" is a heartwarming comedy with funny moments. The good story is wasted with the uneven screenplay. Vinnie in the supermarket is hilarious and maybe the best moment of this movie. The conclusion is corny but entertaining. Steve Martin was originally cast as Barney and Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast as Vinnie but he left the production to work in "Kindengarten Cop". My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Meu Pequeno Paraíso" ("My Little Heaven")

In my opinion Steve Martin's most under-rated film, in which he plays an Italian gangster put on a witness protection programme as he awaits to go to court. Martin was born to play this part, and his character's cocky swagger had me laughing every time he appeared! Rick Moranis also stars, and is his usual nerdy self, which is funny enough!