December 28, 1999

A Look at... Mickey Blue Eyes - THE COMMENTARY

By Joseph Planta

VANCOUVER - The mob has been the foil for many films in the past; From the Coppola epic of Godfather’s, Scorsese’s terrific interpretations and so on and so forth. One of the latest films to borrow from, poke fun and satirise the mob is Mickey Blue Eyes. Starring the talented Mr. Grant, Hugh Grant that is, he plays a very Brit Michael who works in New York as an auctioneer. How British can you get?

He meets up with a girl, Gina, played rather uncomfortably by Jeanne Triplehorn. And then he finds out her pop is a “made man”, a mobster. As he comes to grips with the fact he’s marrying into the mob, he somehow gets himself into a most challenging web. The adventure that ensues envolves picking up a phoney ‘New Yo’k’ accent, lessons on how to carry a fire arm and how to get rid of a prosecution’s evidence in a first-degree murder case.

Hugh Grant plays the role well. He can go to humorous goof to sophisticated screwball in a seamless fashion. James Caan, who plays the Mafioso father-in-law, is probably the only reason to see this film. Caan pokes fun, but deeper than that he delves into the role of carrying the picture when its very clear that Triplehorn and Grant can’t. The story moves at a relatively good pace, but it lacks the credibility that a film should invest into its characters.

I didn’t like this movie, as much as I thought I would. As is the tradition with crappy movies, the best parts had already been doled out on the TV commercials and trailers. Even though I thought it was a silly piece of schlock, I’m not denouncing it that far. One should see it themselves to judge for themselves. Other than that, Mickey Blue Eyes’ title is probably the most original part of the movie. It’s out on video on December 28, 1999.

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