The rise and fall of the Vegas I knew and loved

Rating: 8/10 (29 June 2007)

If nothing else, this film answers the question of what happened to the Las Vegas of the 70s and 80s that most of us experienced and loved. Ace makes the correct statement that now Vegas is the another DisneyWorld where you can take the whole family to be entertained. I remember when it was a little more adult entertainment - a great floor show, 99 cent T-bone dinners, and reasonably priced rooms - all subsidized by gambling.
But what about the movie itself?... While watching the movie, I was reminded of a Saturday Night Live skit called "Low Class Italian Theater" presumably based on the film Raging Bull. The skit satirized movies with Italian men using the f-- word and accusing each other of sleeping with each other's wives. While I think this is one of Martin Scorsese's best films with superb acting by Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone, I can't help but feel it is a little flawed by the constant verbal assault which is not totally germane to the movie. In fact, I heard more anti-Semitic remarks in this one movie than in my entire life. Furthermore, while Sharon Stone's acting was nothing short of brilliant, I think the pace of the movie could have progressed faster and the movie shortened if they had cut out much of her neurotic screwed-up wife routine. I also feel there was an audio assault with the excessive soundtracks. The acting and story line really spoke for itself and did not need every song that was added for dramatic emphasis. Nevertheless, in spite of these alleged shortcomings, I loved the movie and felt I was actually looking at a newsreel from 1973; it seemed that realistic. As mentioned before, the acting was superb and I can't believe there were not more Oscars won here. The fact that it was based on a true story only adds to its aura of a great film. Watch it when you have three hours to spare!