Meet The Mobsters

Introduction

In an Italian-American restaurant, six wiseguys sit around discussing great singers, trying to compile a list of the best. When one mentions Johnny Slade, another, to the disbelief of the others, says he's never heard of him so they start to tell the story of the not-so-famous singer.

A crooner who insists on playing his own compositions, largely to empty clubs and releasing records like Soda Fountain of Love, Johnny Slade (John Fiore) is a terrible and failing entertainer when his manager is contacted by the mysterious Mr. Samantha (Vincent Curatola). Mr. Samantha has just opened a new club and wants Johnny to be the headline act on the condition that Samantha writes his songs. Johnny's manager Jerry (Richard Portnow), a used car salesman by trade, advises him to take the offer and Johnny finds himself singing to packed houses where some of the audience hang on his every word.

Unknown to Johnny, the lyrics that are provided contain instructions from the mob-boss-in-hiding on who to hit, how, where, when and what to do with the bodies. Eventually Johnny cottons on but, now mobbed up to his eyeballs, can't get out of the agreement but thinks he may be able to use his unique access to Samantha to his advantage and has eyes for the gangster's girl, Charlie (Dolores Sirianni).

Video

A nice, though unspectacular picture with decent definition in the darker club scenes and some well composed shots with Samantha and Johnny and of the guys in the restaurant during the framing story. Some scenes have a faux-documentary feel to then, with a lack of focus and stability of the camera but I didn't find this off-putting.

Audio

A clear Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack with some rather comical lyrics, which were apparently written by John Fiore; there is also a 2.0 stereo option. The dialogue is clear and the lyrics aren't too difficult to make out and there are good English HoH subtitles available.

Extra Features

Just a trailer.

Conclusion

The main selling point for Meet the Mobsters, and one mentioned on the cover, is the presence of numerous Sopranos alumni. Mr. Samantha is played by Vincent Curatola (who played Johnny Sack), John Fiore made frequent appearances on the show and the men discussing Johnny Slade in the restaurant all appeared on the show. It doesn't matter if you've seen The Sopranos or not prior to watching this as there aren't any in jokes or material that requires a knowledge of David Chase's creation.

Meet the Mobsters is an entertaining look at an outsider in the mob, someone who gets in over his head without even knowing it and can't get out when he figures out the correlation between the lyrics he sings and gangland violence. The idea of a boss using an unwitting entertainer to sing his messages to his soldiers is clever and it's a wonder that it hadn't already been used in a film or TV show before.

The humour is very odd, with elements of slapstick and wordplay (some of the songs are very funny in their sheer awfulness) and the tone is partway between a serious gangster movie like Goodfellas and a parody similar to Analyze This. It manages to create a world where you almost believe these things and keeps the material enjoyable without the humour ever becoming uneven.

Despite not being the most polished or accomplished film around, this is very entertaining and anchored with a fine performance by John Fiore. The paucity of the disc possible counts against a purchase but, for fans of gangster movies and television series, in particular The Sopranos, there is much to like here.