A waste

Rating: 3/10 (20 August 2001)

I think it has been said plenty of times before, we've all seen this film before. It was called "Goodfellas" and it was better. Actually, saw this film before "Goodfellas" and I still hated it. Three hours long!
SPOILER ALERT The beginning, by all means, keeps you interested with all the work of the process of cisinos. Looks like like a very rewarding business. The voice overs of Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci are also well written eventhough we've been through this with Ray Liotta. The direction starts out considerable. I thought the work was particularly good when De Niro is insulted with the subject of a penn and Pesci steps up by repeatedly stabbing the man out of line in the throat with his own penn.
Later, we get to meet Sharon Stone's character. A prostitute who works for James Woods. When De Niro lays his eyes on her making trouble for a mistake made at a crabbs table, he instantly sees something in her. He convinces her to marry him and give up her job for the pimp. He gives her a gift of millions of dollars worth in jewels. What De Niro is not aware of, but becomes suspicious of, is that she is still secretely with the pimp with meetings and phone calls. When they are caught at a restaurant, she msut plead for his life.

Peci makes trouble in Vegas. In one scene, he plays blackjack and throws vulgar remarks at the dealer while he throws the cards he recieves out. In one scene they find a thief on the inside and spend days torturing him with with woodshop supplies untill they get names. Eventually, Pesci works his way up to being band from Vegas completely. The FBI eventually gets on to all of them.

Sharon continues to be the perfect little wife, snorting coc and drinking away. They have a daughter together who gets the luxuries of witnessing all of this right before her. Eventually, she breaks out to find Woods, bringing their daughter with her. While they're there, they make cash and get a good share of coc. Eventually, De Niro tracks them to get their daughter back. Saron, high and more out of it then ever sleams back when she breaks away from Woods. While running an eran, she did the thoughtful thing of simply tighing their daughter up on her bed and leaving. Sharon continually threatens to leave and the yerns for the jewels so that she can get money and dump De Niro.

Rivalry starts up with De Niro and Pesci. Pesci starts getting jobs on his own, still dodging the Feds who have gone as far as hring lip readers. Eventualy, Sharon finds her way into Pesci's arms and they have a short go for something. Eventually, however, Sharon just schemes to get off cash and Pesci kicks the whore out.

This film is based on a true story, yet seeses to be realistic. There's a scene when a man at a blackjack table is caught counting cards. He is brought out into a back room and they breack his hand with a hammar. One very cardinal rule in any organization with publicity. Always appeal. To take a mafia tactic like that on an ordinary civilian, would be desastorous for business. People would be disgusted. Thaty doesn't seem to bother the story, however. Even though it should.

Pesci's sharacter couldn't be more exactly like his character Tommy from "Goodfellas". Still cold blooded. Still aggressive and unreasonable. The most noble character in the film is De Niro. I can't even get into how annoying Sharon Stone got, whether it was sincere or a good performance, it just got old, stupid, and aggravating. Ya want De Niro to just simply draw his gun and blow her to bits, but he won't because after all thiss "I love her." This after she bardged into his house to get the key to the bank where she can collect her wealth.

Yes, the film is violent and gorey. They should have spent much more time on that then all the other crap that is boring and annoying, not gripping. I'm glad to see that it didn't go on to any real success. An osar nomination for Sharon and four stars from Roger Ebert who is simply in love with Scorsese. That's all except for, I believe, a script nomination which I certainly don't appove of, other good review that may have come up, and, of course, the movie goers. It's a shame so many of them likd this film. Plenty of other good or great mafia films out there. "Goodfellas", "Bugsy", all three of "The Godfathers", and probably much more. This is certainly a waste of time and it seems like a considerable deal of effort went into it. Too bad.