This Mafia comedy has a few funny moments, but should have been a lot better. It is based on a best-selling book by Jimmy Breslin. I never read the book, but I have heard that it is much better than the movie.
The plot involves Kid Sally Palumbo (Jerry Orbach !!!!!) trying to kill Baccala (Lionel Stander), the head of the "Family," so that he can take over and be the big boss. The comedy is very in-your-face and over-the-top. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
But get a load of this cast!
* Herve Villechaize (as Beppo) - His voice is dubbed by an actor with a heavy New York / gangster accent.
* Robert DeNiro as an Italian kleptomaniac / bicycle racer disguised as a priest.
* Leigh Taylor-Young (from SOYLENT GREEN) as Kid Sally's sister.
* Jo Van Fleet as a stereotypical old Italian lady (she wears all black clothes and does a lot of cooking)
* Burt Young as a demolitions expert
* Michael Gazzo (Frankie Pentangeli from GODFATHER, PART II) as a gangster
* Dominic Chianese (Johnny Ola from GODFATHER, PART II and Junior Soprano from THE SOPRANOS) as a gangster
Plus Jackie Vernon, Paul Benedict, Jack Kehoe, and a bunch of other faces that you would recognize.
I cannot recommend this movie, but if you're a big fan of gangster films or if you enjoy trying to identify numerous character actors, you might want to devote 96 minutes of your life to watching this movie.
