Rob the Mob

When a small time stick-up man attends John Gotti's trial he finds out that everyone goes unarmed at the Mafia social clubs. He and his girl friend start stealing from the mob.

Raymond De Felitta tackles a daunting task in his handling of Jonathan Fernandez's script. None of the characters is the least bit appealing at the beginning of the movie. The leads are selfish and stupid, Ray Romano's reporter is just in it for the story and Andy Garcia's crime boss seems a murderous enigma. Yet by the end of the movie, they are all sympathetic characters caught up a mess they have no control over.

A kind word should also be offered to Chris Norr for his fine cinematography. The street scenes, mostly shot in northern Queens, are hideous yet illuminating.

I like movies based on true stories. It makes it a bit particular to watch. But if this one is really based on true events then they must be the dumbest robbers in history. Or wannabe gangsters with a death wish. Nevertheless the movie is fun to watch. Michael Pitt and Nina Arianda did a very good job playing Tommy and Rosie, the two lunatics robbing the mafia. The movie is simple and easy to follow, with I guess then a storyline based on true events. A bit unbelievable if you ask me but then again nothing can really surprise me anymore. If you like mob stories then you will probably like this movie. I did for sure, wasn't bored for a second.

It's 1991 NYC. Rosie (Nina Arianda) and Tommy Uva (Michael Pitt) are small time stick up armed robbers. They get caught robbing a florist. After 18 months, Rosie is working at debt collecting. He gets released from jail and she gets him a job at the agency. Tommy comes up with an idea to rob mafia social clubs which doesn't allow guns inside and everybody has lots of cash. He has issues with the mob getting rough with his father. Mob boss Big Al (Andy García) doesn't want to kill them with all the heat. Then they hit a joint that is being monitored by FBI Agent Frank Hurd (Frank Whaley).

This is a quirky little Bonnie and Clyde story. The acting is pretty good and the story is sort of interesting. The main thing missing is some intensity. Raymond De Felitta doesn't have the intense directing style. He's more of a quirky family drama guy. The couple has a few fun moments. The rest of the movie needs to be either much more funny or much more intense. Part of the problem is the lack of energetic music. This movie should have lots of fun period music. It could be a hilarious comedy or a dark intense period piece. This isn't much of either.

After watching a run of really terrible movies (Monuments Men, I Frankenstein, Invasion Day) I was desperate for a good movie....well I found it! Not just a good movie, but a great one. I was not holding out much luck from the hopeless title of Rob The Mob, but 5 minutes in and I was sold. Nina Arianda as 'Rosie' absolutely steals this movie, and is a joy to watch, her facial expressions are hilarious, and really draw you in to liking the character, in fact every performance in this movie is good, and whoever put the cast together deserves a 'well done' for a brilliant ensemble troop of players. If i have one slight criticism then it is that the Mob are about as threatening as a box of kittens! They are depicted as a bunch of fat guys sitting around playing cards and making rice balls, but the guy at the back of the club who seems to know where everybody is, made me laugh out loud. This movie deserves to be up there with some of the greats of the mobster movies. There is also a great soundtrack.

"They're criminals so they aren't gonna call the cops and the cops ain't gonna care if we rip off some wise guys." Tommy Uva (Pitt) has just been released from prison and wants to start a new a better life with his girlfriend. When the jobs they get don't pay nearly enough Tommy comes up with an idea to get rich quick. After going to the trial for mobster John Gotti he hears of an address and decides to rob a mafia social club. This idea becomes more dangerous when they find out who is is, but when Tommy finds "the list" things become worse then he imagined. I'll start be saying that I love mafia movies so I was excited about this one. The fact that this is a true story made me that much more excited. I was not disappointed. The movie does start off a little slow but is a movie that you should keep watching because it is very worth it. You are forced to pick who is the bad guy, the robbers, the mob, or the FBI. On one hand it's hard to root for a robber, but when he robs the "bad guys" it doesn't seem so bad. Andy Garcia as the head of the family is pretty likable so you can't totally feel that Tommy and his girl are doing the right thing. To me the fact that all the lines of right and wrong are blurred makes this that much more fun and enjoyable to watch. I would not put this in the same category as Donnie Brasco or any Scorsese movies but this is very much worth seeing and you will not be disappointed. I liked it. Overall, a very good true story/mob movie that is well worth your time. I give it a B+.