Mafia salad...

This movie is silly but never stupid, so you can just enjoy it for what it is...a Jersey mob comedy. Principals DeVito and Piscopo are life-long friends who live next door to each other in Newark, and their source of income comes from the mob figure (Dan Hedaya) who allows them to pick up his dry cleaning and start his car (this was a funny scene..DeVito starting a car that might explode..the entire neighborhood clears out in 20 seconds! Plus the other mobsters bet on the outcome!) and go to the track for him. They are sometimes joined by Captain Lou Albano, who is out of his mind but at least did not attach those rubber bands to his face like he did when he was WWF-connected, and he has little patience for either of these flunkies.

Don't want to give anything else away, but the friends are put in the position of having to test their friendship and on the whole, this is a very satisfying comedy with a two leads in good form, great character actors like Julie Bovasso, Antonia Rey, Patti Lupone, Ray Sharkey, and an appearance by Harvey Keitel, too! Plus authentic Jersey locations, including a trip to Atlantic City..

Brian DePalma directed, and he is not renowned for his comedies but maybe he should be.

I don't know why this film was so horribly panned when it was first released, its just a harmless and lightweight gangster comedy. I will admit that director Brian DePalma who has directed such classics as Scarface and The Untouchables was taking a huge risk by agreeing to take on this lightweight comedy, but I think it ended up turning out just fine. DeVito and Piscopo have surprisingly good on-screen chemistry and DePalma's directing style shows through and works well in this film. This was certainly one of Danny DeVito's better comedies in the 1980's. I was also glad to see that Roger Ebert actually gave this fun comedy a good review. ***/****. Great fun.

Let's just say it up front: Brian De Palma doesn't direct comedies, at least not as a major part of his career. When he's done so it's usually in the realm of black comedies or satires, like his early films (Greetings/Hi Mom) or the rightfully maligned Bonfire of the Vanities. His sense of comedy is BIG (note the caps) and broad, but his farce is nowhere near the kind of genius of Mel Brooks. His slapstick is so large and spread out in scenes that it makes Looney Tunes look subtle (having Captain Lou Albino as one of the main bad-guys, the "Fixer" as he's called, is part of it). And the story is fairly idiotic too.

Yet I found myself enjoying Wise Guys, but for the little it aimed for. This isn't a grand vision like De Palma would immediately after go for in The Untouchables and Casualties of War. It was a trifle, a way to test himself in a low budget with actors he hadn't worked with before- chiefly stars Danny De Vito and (yes, star) Joe Piscapo. They play grunts whose job is to serve at the behest of mob boss Castelo (Dan Hedaya, hamming it up like it's nobody's business). When the two dopes lay a bet on a horse that isn't the one Castelo bet on and loses, they're each given a charge: each must kill the other to prove loyalty.

This, of course, is another set-up for a series of missteps in the two knuckleheads running away from the Castelo bosses, all the way down in Atlantic City as Harry tries to find his Uncle Mike, very much dead. The subtitle for the film could be called 'Wackiness Ensues', and De Palma doesn't let anything go past as being unnoticeable. Particularly is one scene, perhaps De Palma's most daring (or just recognizably 'De Palma) cinematographic-ally when Harry has to go turn on 'the car' that might explode any moment (the shot speeds up and does a 360 as everyone runs away from the scene, a hoot-take on his usual style). And in the script, some lines of dialog and set-ups are so blunt you can feel the force at the back of your head.

But somehow, against all of the odds of the 'ho-hum' quality of the set-up, it's fun because of the acting. Joe Piscapo is mentioned today, just his name, as a punch-line, but there was a time when he was at least halfway amusing (mostly in skits with Eddie Murphy on SNL), and here he's let loose with the a character like Moe who, I guess compared to Harry, is the straight guy depending on the scene. Harry, meanwhile, gives Danny De Vito a real chance to chomp at the bit: he's so over the top, but he's also a believable luck-believer (he goes for it the way Bible-thumpers go for God), and in those moments when Piscapo falls totally flat, somehow De Vito comes back in to make things fun in the delirious way. Others like Lou Albino and, on a more subtle-menacing scale, Harvey Keitel, do a competent job in their roles.

So, going in and expecting a really great comedy or just an interesting piece of art will mean some disappointment. As a juicy diversion that ask for nothing except a few chuckles by way of the New Jersey Turnpike, it does its job reasonably well; De Palma fans who find themselves going through his thrillers and blockbusters first will come across this, possibly, last in his catalog. But it's far from his worst.

I like Danny devito. His sense of comedy and timing are really what make the movies he makes fun to watch. He is perfectly casted in "Wise guys" which is Brian De Palmas attempt at a comedy. The movie is pretty much a parody of the gangster genre which was popular in the 70's. The movie also stars Joe Piscapo as his bumbling Jewish friend Moe. The story is of these two men and their jobs in an organized crime syndicate were they are treated with low regards, even from their boss. harry (De vito) and Moe don't really have it easy in the mob. After screwing up on a simple job the main boss decides to have them both be given a contract to kill each other without either of them knowing. The comedy is good and fresh. particularly the scene at the church which still makes me crack up. Captain Lou albino is great as Frankie the fixer. The chemistry between Harry and Moe is well deserved in this buddy comedy. I think it was overlooked because they expected De Palma to make more serious oriented films that critics were used to like "Scarface", "The Untouchables" and "Carrie". Its disappointing that they passed on this film cuz:

1. I thought it was really good. 2. Each character got some good screen time 3. Its a great parody that even Scorsese would appreciate 4. De vito is just funny and thats always a plus.

If you like gangster films but prefer to see the genre itself be given fresh material, please look at this film, Its worth a rental.

I've just caught it on TCM and can't wait the 5 weeks till it comes out on DVD. This is a gangster spoof at its best, full of lovable characters well played by top actors of the mob genre. Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo make a great loser couple, Dan Hedaya stars as the dreary mob boss, whose henchmen include Frank Vincent and hilarious Lou Albano that steals every scene he's in. We even get to see Harvey Keitel in a classy supporting role! The plot is simple and has been done before and after, but rarely with such charm and lightness. With a current rating of 5.2, it's a severely underrated gangster comedy able to deliver entertaining evening for every fan of the genre.