Cast: Hugh Grant, Jeanne Tripplehorn, James Caan, James Fox, Burt Young, Joe Viterelli, Scott Thompson, Paul Lazar
Director: Kelly Makin
Producers: Elizabeth Hurley, Charles Mulvehill
Screenplay: Adam Scheinman, Robert Kuhn
Cinematography: Donald E. Thorin
Music: Basil Poledouris
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
With The Sopranos standing out as one of 1999's most acclaimed TV shows and Analyze This having earned more than three times its cost domestically, mobsters are once again proving to be a big source of entertainment dollars. Of course, the public has always harbored a fascination for the Mafia lifestyle, as is evidenced by the popularity of films like The Godfather and Goodfellas. Now, however, the enjoyment is resulting not from depicting the culture in a straightforward manner, but from poking fun at it. And, while Mickey Blue Eyes can't quite attain the level of comedy reached by Analyze This, it nevertheless offers several solidly humorous sequences that lift it above the noisy continuum inhabited by Mafia! and other would-be Godfather spoofs.
Instead of Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro, the dynamic duo of Analyze This, we have Hugh Grant and James Caan. Grant, as always, plays the perfect British twit. If you have appreciated the actor in any of his other roles (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, etc.), you'll probably like him here, because he plays exactly the same kind of role. Grant is good at what he does, but his range is nonexistent. Caan is a more versatile actor with a solid sense of comic timing, but his casting doesn't match the coup of getting De Niro (Pacino would have been nice). While it's true that Caan has played gangsters in straight movies (particularly Sonny Corleone in The Godfather), he isn't associated with this sort of part the way others are. This is one instance when being typecast would have been an asset.
Grant is Michael Felgate, a hard working auctioneer at Cromwell's Art House (New York's chief rival to Sotheby's). He is in love with school teacher Gina Vitale (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and has decided that he wants to marry her. His proposal comes in a Chinese restaurant (and represents the movie's comic highlight), but Gina turns him down. The reason: her father, Frank (Caan), is involved with the mob and she is afraid that, by linking himself to her family, Michael will become involved in the business. "A little favor, a tiny lie, and you're theirs," she explains. Michael demurs, telling her that if they can stick together, they can avoid the trap. But it's easier said than done. Soon, not only is Michael lying to Gina, but he has created his own underworld persona: Mickey Blue Eyes, a tough-acting brute whose bizarre New Yawk accent is so thick that he's virtually unintelligible.
While I won't deny that Mickey Blue Eyes has its share of funny moments, the film contains elements that don't work. The expectedly inconsequential storyline doesn't always strike the right chord. The proceedings are overtly silly, with a jokey TV sitcom feel, but there's also an ominous undercurrent that's at odds with the prevailing jovial tone. For example, there's nothing remotely humorous about the character of Vito Graziosi (Burt Young). He's a dour, menacing figure who casts a pall over every scene he's in. Uncle Vito isn't just a straight man thinking he's in a serious mob picture; he wants to twist Mickey Blue Eyes into one.
One of the more enjoyable aspects of the movie is watching Grant curl up his lip and transform himself into the inarticulate title character. Unfortunately, this only happens on a few occasions, and then only for short periods of time. Instead, our protagonist spends most of the film protesting the lifestyle and actions of his soon-to-be-family. By keeping Michael moral and upright, the filmmakers curtail the effectiveness of his Mickey Blue Eyes alter ego. Michael becomes the party pooper, spoiling the fun we're supposed to be having at the expense of the mobsters. The ending of Analyze This, as cornball as it was, worked because Billy Crystal's character finally gave in. That surrender, even if only temporary, is missing from Mickey Blue Eyes.
Finally, there's the problem of Jeanne Tripplehorn. For the most part, this movie is well cast, with a number of familiar, mob-type faces fulfilling secondary roles. But, as Grant's romantic opposite, Tripplehorn is a complete bust. She's not appealing or sexy, and there aren't many scenes in which she's genuinely funny. I found her to be shrill in Sliding Doors, but at least she was playing a villain. Here, she's supposed to be likable, but her personality isn't much softer.
Mickey Blue Eyes was directed by Kelly Makin (Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy), who falls into the unfortunate trap of trying for all the quick, easy jokes without taking the time or effort to develop a more satisfying level of humor. This is the kind of movie that, despite offering up a sizable portion of laughter, leaves the viewer with the impression that it could have been, and should have been, a lot funnier. So, in the final analysis, it's tough to make a case denying that Mickey Blue Eyes is of passable entertainment value, but it's equally difficult to argue that it offers anything fresh or inspired.
© 1999 James Berardinelli