The Wannabe

"Don't write the history books yet." Thomas (Piazza) has become obsessed with the trial of John Gotti and thinks it is his mission to find a way to get him off. When his plan falls through He tries to find another way to become a wise-guy. The only way he can think to do this is to begin robbing mafia hangouts. Together him and his wife Rose (Arquette) complete a string of hold-ups that finally gets him noticed. I am a huge fan of any type of mafia movie. There was a fantastic movie called Rob The Mob that came out a few years ago that dealt with this same story. Like that one this one is also very good and I really liked it. There were some differences between the two but the biggest one was that Thomas was played as someone who talks a big game, but is different when he is in action in this movie. To me that little change really added to the realism of this and added to the overall feel of the movie. The acting is really good in this, but Piazza's portrayal is really what makes the movie and I highly recommend this. Overall, a very good movie that really makes you relate to Thomas, something that is usually hard to do in a mafia movie. I give this a high B+.

This film seems to never identify what it is. Yeah, it's a "mob" movie - like we haven't seen enough of them. The story is simple enough - a loser who is a little off is a mafia wannabe and is infatuated with, who else? John Gotti. It revolves around Gotti's last trial when he was found guilty. Thomas is in court every day and figures out that a black juror and a black spectator are twin brothers so he decides to get to the juror through the brother. Only problem is they aren't brothers. It's poorly directed and the whole premise is not brought out well.

Thomas is a loner who is out of prison on parole, but we never find out why he went to prison. By his actions we might assume it was for some petty crime or drugs. He finds a tough neighborhood girlfriend and they become a team, drink, take drugs, and when his plan to free Gotti fails, they turn to a hit and run robbing operation. They stick up card games that are "protected " by the mob. It's poorly designed and a bit ridiculous since Thomas never wears a mask and everyone knows him, but he seems to walk the streets on NYC without worries.

The crime spree tapers down after he fails to assassinate Curtis Swila whose radio talk show has been badmouthing Gotti throughout the trial. So bad...

Fortunately, this film had to end and dies with the Thomas and Rose getting "hit" in their car.

Supposedly a true story? Bad script, bad direction, makes for a bad movie.

It's not the Godfather nor is it Goodfellas. Wannabe stands on its own as an excellent character study. Amara plays Thomas, a wannabe mobster. Arnette is Rose, his supporting wife. Enjoy this movie for what it is.

This is a well-done film about a couple of petty criminals (not too bright) that end up robbing social club card games, supposedly to get money so they can move to Hawaii. It's well-acted; a good character study. It's based on the lives of Thomas and Rosemarie Uva, whose spree started in 1991 and ended in December 1992. Another director did the same story as the movie, Rob the Mob.

I thought this was going to be a mafia related story. Instead, it's more about a weirdo and his pathetic life of mafia adoration. Slow paced and psichological. Depressing story of a pathetic couple of (real) characters. Took me an effort to finish it. Towards the end I just wanted them dead as soon as possible, so it could be over already.