Thoughts on Married to the Mob

 

via Tumblr; How could I not go with this gif? It's an honest to God star entrance.

"Angela, you're a very excitin' woman. And for some crazy reason, I think I'd rather kill myself than hurt you. But, suicide's out of the question."

A handful of women get to have two of their 1988 movie performances appraised this month. Sigourney Weaver was first. Geena Davis and Martha Plimpton's second films are coming soon. Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey's two are on the horizon. Married to the Mob is the first of two for Mercedes Ruehl and the last for both Joan Cusack and Michelle Pfeiffer. When researching Mob, I was a little surprised to see that Michelle got better reviews for it than she did for Dangerous Liaisons. Rewatching the movie cleared things up. Michelle is great as Angela, a widow pursued by the feds, namely agent Mike Downey (Matthew Modine), who falls for her, the mafia, namely amorous Tony "The Tiger" Russo (Dean Stockwell) and Tony's jealous wife Connie (Ruehl).

Excellent direction makes an impact. Mob was directed by Jonathan Demme, from a script by Barry Strugatz & Mark R. Burns. The writers' next movie was She-Devil, which could have used Demme's skill at finding comedy among the tawdry. Angela flees Long Island for the Lower East Side in an effort to get rid of people committing crimes including but not limited to assassinations, possessing stolen property, crushing egg cartons in public and wearing raccoon tails as fringe. No matter how many times I've seen Mob, Connie's rivalry with Angela, who doesn't jump when she snaps her fingers, is a highlight. Speaking of highlights, I laughed at big-haired Connie letting Angela know that her newer, less ostentatious style "looks like shit."

Pfeiffer and Modine may be Mob's stars, but the movie also boasts a stellar ensemble. Stockwell and Ruehl are followed by Alec Baldwin as Angela's late, lecherous husband, Frank "The Cucumber"; Trey Wilson as Modine's FBI boss, who's not above playing dirty; Oliver Platt as Mike's partner, clearly better at undercover work; "Sister" Carol East as Angela's boss at the Hello Gorgeous salon; Anthony J. Nici as Angela's son, Joey, confused as to why his new home has a bathtub in the kitchen; and finally, Rose (Cusack), Theresa (Ellen Foley) and Phyllis (O-Lan Jones). I wish the mob wives trio hung around longer, but they make their screen time count. Look at how hurt Cusack looks when Rose has to be part of the Foodtown confrontation.

"They found them in the tub, naked."

"Well, everything that goes around, comes around."

"Here she comes."

"You guys to have to clean up."

"Hey, Angela, shh-shh, just be quiet, okay?"

"Thanks, you guys, I really appreciate this."
"What are friends for?"

"And we are your friends, Angela. Whether you like it or not."

What the hell, one more from Mercedes:

"I've got a confession to make. The other night, when you didn't come home on time, I got a little bit suspicious. I'm so ashamed of this. I went over to Angela's. ... I couldn't help myself, baby! I just had to see if you were with her. Just thinking of you making it with that slut, I just -- I went crazy. I couldn't stand it. Tony, if I had found you bangin' that broad, I would have hunted you down like an animal. It would have been slow and painful. You would have begged me for mercy, baby, but I was so far gone ...!"

It's funny how in the course of two years, there were at least four movies with their own takes on the mafia lifestyle, not to mention leaving it. Mob, My Blue Heaven (which Cusack also was in), The Godfather, Part III and Goodfellas. Mob is funny, but doesn't skimp on the seriousness of Angela's situation. Scott Tobias, in a 2009 A.V. Club review, said the movie "stands up to many more austere treatments (of single-mother empowerment), owing to Demme and Pfeiffer's unironic commitment to the character's plight." In fact, the only thing that I didn't like about Angela's eagerness to live a respectable life is that we don't get enough of a sense as to how she even barely lasted so long in the mafia bubble. I guess she spent a lot of years crying. 

Modine received the worst reviews of Mob's lead actors. I'll admit to being a poor judge of chemistry, but I liked him opposite Pfeiffer. I don't know if it was due to their pairing or Demme's direction, but Michelle and Matthew did really well with a scene I must have previously taken for granted. I'm talking about when Angela comes clean to Mike, who she thinks is a plumber, about her past. It's followed by Mike, after disabling the bugs in Angela's living room and bedroom, calming her down. It works because of the actors. Strugatz & Burns apparently tailored Mike for Tom Cruise*. I think they had the right guy in the end.

*IMDB says Jessica Lange was sought for Angela. I can't imagine that. On the other hand, Ray Liotta as Frank is easy to picture. I imagine he passed because he didn't want to be typecast after Something Wild.

Which brings me back to Michelle. I've sung her praises before. It was a delight to find all those glowing notices from critics. As of now, I've seen almost all of 1988's award-winning/nominated movie performances by lead actresses. I can understand why Melanie Griffith was acclaimed for Working Girl, scoring an Oscar nod and winning the Golden Globe. It's a fine performance. But watching Mob in close proximity to Girl makes me realize that a lot of what made Melanie so appealing was done as well by Michelle. As you may or may not know, Michelle was under consideration for Girl, which, of course, also featured Baldwin and Platt. In the end, I'm glad that Michelle made Mob, and really glad that Demme directed it.

"Uh, Angela, I've been thinking --"

"Well, there you go, workin' without tools again. You know, I've been thinking, too. You know, I feel for you like a ton of bricks. I bared my soul to you, I trusted you, you lied to me, then, you almost have me killed ... but I can't stop thinking about what you said to me that night at my apartment. Maybe everyone does deserve a second chance. ... Even you. You want one?"

"... Yeah. I want one."

"I'll think about it."

*an unabashed Hollywood-style reunion kiss follows*

Recommended.

Thoughts:
-- "You know, I don't know what's wrong with you lately, Angela. All the other guys, their wives get along. Tommy and Rose invite us to dinner, you lie to them, you don't tell me about it. They used to be your friends, now all of a sudden you can't stand them? That makes me look bad. How am I supposed to get ahead in the family?" "The same way you always have. Lie, cheat, steal, kill."

-- Box Office: Grossing nearly $21.5 million on a $10 million budget, this opened at No. 7.

-- Awards Watch: While Michelle received a Golden Globe nomination, Dean was Oscar-nominated. For all the talk about the Academy Awards not recognizing comedy, it's worth mentioning that the 61st ceremony had six nominees from funny films: Working Girl's female trio, Kevin Kline, Dean and Tom Hanks.

-- Critic's Corner, the movie: "The satirical point ... is that in America an honest person will always be misunderstood or treated as a flake," David Denby observed. "Everyone but the realistic Angela is living out some fantasy." "Angela's shot at a second chance on life is seen as courageous and hard-won," Tobias wrote. Roger Ebert didn't like Mike and Angela talking about the difficulty of turning one's life around when they're being haunted by the past. "An unnecessary statement of theme that reflects Demme's determination to make sure everyone gets this film."

-- Critic's Corner, Michelle: "There are few more luxurious movie pleasures than watching Michelle Pfeffer when she's given a role worthy of her," Sheila Benson wrote. "Her performances is the picture's linchpin -- warm, delicately times and utterly infectious." Rita Kempley: "... the pivotal role of the movie and perhaps of her career." While saying Michelle was essential as the grounding force for all those goofballs, Tobias also said she had some memorable line readings. "Her pouty Long Island inflection on the declaration 'I want a divorce!' is a particular highlight," he wrote. Kempley and Denby were among the critics observing how Michelle's acting and roles advanced between Scarface and Mob. "Italianness, and sloppiness, sets her free," he wrote. "(She) unites kitsch and beauty in the spirit of excess."

-- Critic's Corner, Matthew: "He doesn't have the game, nutty side suggested by the screenplay," according to Janet Maslin. Benson contrasted Mike unfavorably with Charlie in Something Wild. Roger Ebert, who saw no romantic chemistry between Michelle and Matthew, found that he gave a strange performance. "Hanging every word on an expression of exaggerated false sincerity, he comes off like a cartoon character looking for his frame."

-- Critic's Corner, Mercedes: "Photographed with the awe accorded temples, Ruehl's virago is majestic in her jealousy, stealing scenes but never the show from the sweetly determined Pfeiffer," Kempley wrote. Tobias: "The best touch is the way she modulates her voice when making a threat, hitting the sort of low registers that could never be associated with femininity."

-- Critic's Corner, Jonathan: "It's a little hard to pin down that distinctive Demme touch -- warm and humane without stifling earnestness, colorful without veering into grotesquerie -- but his best films have a way of conforming the world to suit his oddball sensibility," Tobias wrote. Maslin: "In telling a story that hinges on stereotypical Italian gangsters, (he) conjures up a comic garishness that is really something special." Benson: "(Mob) may prove to be Demme's long-overdue passport to mass audience adulation. ... (he) isn't aghast at kitsch, or even superior to it; actually, he's its purely loving archivist."

-- One thing I got a kick out of was how all these mob guys had deadpan last words. "I loved you like a father." ("You disappointed the shit out of me.") "Don't." "Gee, Mike, you didn't have to do that."

-- "God, you people work just like the mob! There's no difference." "Oh, there's a big difference, Mrs. de Marco. The mob is run by murdering, thieving, lying, cheating psychopaths. We work for the President of the United States of America."

-- Hey, It's ...!: Charles Napier, Nancy Travis, Colin Quinn, David Johansen, Tracey Walter, Chris Isaak, Al Lewis, Todd Solondz and Roma Maffia.

-- Fanservice Junction: Baldwin in the black bikini briefs wins for this movie. Unless Modine and plain white boxers does it for you. Among the women, we have naked Nancy and the back of Michelle's bra.

-- Angela doesn't question why Mike, supposedly at home getting over a cold, is hanging out in a suit?

-- Poster Watch: Ads for 42nd Street, Roza, Starlight Express, Jackie Mason's The World According to Me! and Little Shop of Horrors are seen at the "Fat Man"'s train station.

-- One shot that I wish I could gif is Connie contemplating Angela's supposed interest in Tony as Theresa watches her reaction. It's a good, all-purpose, "See, boss?" moment.

-- That's gotta be the moment a mob guy knows he's made it, when lounge acts perform your theme.

-- Speaking of music, it's interesting to hear "Goodbye Horses" play as Mike gives Angela a foot rub. 

-- While we're at it, let's acknowledge the Burger World jingle. "Drive up to the clown/into Burger World Town/The fries are crispy/the shakes are creamy/the Double Continental with cheese is dreamy ..."

-- More movies should be retold with outtake footage under the credits.

-- "A luta continua."

-- Next: Bull Durham. On deck: Beaches.