Being A Gangster - It's Not All Glamor!

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2006)

I found this to be an interesting character study of a Cuban who comes to Miami and becomes a big drug dealer, rising from little to become a big-shot and wealthy....and then destroy himself. The movie got panned at the time of its release for its excesses in profanity and violence....but now since we've all become desensitized with decades of this stuff, the film is now almost reaching "cult status." Amazing. The critics, meanwhile, loved "Casino," which - profanity- wise, made "Scarface" sound like "Mary Poppins." Go figure.
Nonetheless, at the time, Al Pacino ("Tony Montana") probably set a new Hollywood record for using the f-word in a mainline film. Pacino's wife, "Elvira" played by the beautiful Michelle Peiffer, wasn't a lot more wholesome than her husband. She got really brutal as the film wore on.
If that language is no problem, you'll find the story quite interesting and a good study of how paranoia must wind up haunting most gangsters. It's a real downside to living the live of crime. Near the end, Pacino is going to bed each night with a gun under his pillow. That's not how you want to get a good night's sleep!
Anyone who thinks being a big-time crook is "the life," should watch this film and pay attention. It may look like "crime pays," but it doesn't. I mention all this because this movie is perfect portrayal of how the paranoia of being in the drug business can do you in, as well as other problems that can do you in. It isn't all glamor. Even Pfeiffer's great face can't mask the ugliness inside.