Build a movie plot around this: Who is the exception to the rule? Ellen Barkin
The answer to this question is:
By appearing first in a bathrobe, Vick the gangster boss, is aping the headlines of that era. We were seeing a Mafia chieftain in New York City appearing for his court appearances in a bathrobe, trying to cop a plea by appearing insane.Richard Dreyfuss and a herd of aging actors make this a fascinating study for what happens when actors go over the hill. The exception to the rule is Ellen Barkin, playing a sexy, really hot gangster's moll to Jeff Goldblum's professional hitman. With the name of Holliday, Jeff gives us a great clue to the action as murder draw-downs follow murder draw-downs. Definitely a quixotic movie with no moral, whatsoever but fun to see.