‘What kind of guys gamble with the boss’s money, swipe a killer’s Cadillac, and party on the mob’s credit card?’

Directed by:
Brian De Palma

Written by:
George Gallo
Norman Steinberg

Cast:
Danny DeVito (Harry Valentini), Joe Piscopo (Moe Dickstein), Harvey Keitel (Bobby DiLea), Ray Sharkey (Marco), Dan Hedaya (Anthony Castello), Lou Allano (Frank ‘The Fixer’ Acavano), Julie Bovasso (Lil Dickstein), Patti LuPone (Wanda Valentini), Antonia Rey (Aunt Sadie), Mimi Cecchini (Grandma Valentini)

The reason GoodFellas isn’t titled Wise Guy – after the book it’s based on – is that this film, a mob comedy by none other than Brian De Palma, got there first. It starts with Harry Valentini (Danny DeVito) doing a Travis Bickle impression in front of the mirror. This tells us everything we need to know about his character: he tries to act tough but is really just an errand boy for the local New Jersey mafia, alongside his friend and next-door neighbor, the Jewish Moe Dickstein (Joe Piscopo).

These two are the laughingstock of the crew led by Anthony Castello (Dan Hedaya). They’re stuck with humiliating tasks: doing groceries, testing a new bulletproof vest, and starting the car rigged with explosives.

When they’re forced to place a bet for the boss, compulsive gambler Harry bets on the wrong horse, assuming Castello’s pick would lose. Turns out the race was fixed, and now they owe him 250,000 dollars. As punishment, the boss orders them to kill each other. The wise guys catch wind of this and flee to Atlantic City, desperate to escape their predicament.

De Palma – known for suspense and gangster classics – had made comedies before, like Greetings and Hi, Mom!. While certainly no masterpieces, he developed his own style, and some jokes land: like the sped-up shot of the entire street fleeing when Harry starts the rigged car, or when Harry and Moe deliberately wreck the Cadillac they stole from a hated crew member.

It’s curious, though, that between making two of the decade’s greatest gangster films – Scarface (1983) and The Untouchables (1987) – De Palma made this pretty mediocre mob comedy.

Critics largely panned it, but Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel loved it. Ebert gave it three-and-a-half stars out of four, writing, “Wise Guys is an abundant movie, filled with ideas and gags and great characters. It never runs dry.” Siskel awarded it a perfect four stars, raving, “Big laughs, foul language to the point of absurdity, and one hilarious, screaming performance atop another combine to make Wise Guys one of the funniest times you will have at the movies this year.”

You’ll have to see for yourself if you’re one of the few people to agree.

Rating:

Quote:
HARRY: “Let’s put this ＄10.000 on my Baby to win. Or do you wanna die in Newark?”

Trivia:
Martin Scorsese’s parents – Catherine and Charles Scorsese, who are also in other gangster films like GoodFellas and The Godfather Part 3 (only Catherine) are featured as birthday guests.