Mickey Blue Eyes (1999)

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Mickey Blue Eyes (1999): Dir: Kelly Makin / Cast: Hugh Grant, James Caan, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Joe Viterelli, Burt Young: Boy, did they ever rush this laughless trash out quickly after the success of Analyze This. Both comedies regards gangsters torn between their professional and personal lives. Title is totally lame but it is the name given to Hugh Grant who is an art auction dealer shocked when Jeanne Tripplehorn refuses to marry him. At first I figured it was because this is a shitty movie, but as it turns out her father is a gangster and she fears that he will have Grant running illegal favours. This indeed does occur and Grant ends up auctioning very expensive paintings. Then a series of events lead to Grant being blamed for the death of the son of another mob leader. Although the setup is amusing the delivery is repetitious with a contrived ending. Kelly Makin does fine as director but this is nowhere near as funny as her earlier comedy Brain Candy. While Grant pulls off humour effectively James Caan as his father-in-law is typecast and predictable. Tripplehorn labours under uninteresting material and is involved in an ending that is too stupid for words. Then we have Joe Viterelli as a carry over from Analyze This as if he just couldn't play any other role. Misfire comedy laden with clichés. It is enough to make Mickey close his blue eyes in order to erase the memory. Score: 2 ½ / 10

In 1999, although I didn't actually see this mob spoof, I heard the line, "fuggedaboudit," was told where that line came from, and saw the trailer for the movie. I didn't actually see "Mickey Blue Eyes" until 2006, and by then, I knew it wasn't the most highly acclaimed comedy of all time, so I wasn't expecting to be blown away. However, I was hoping for at least a moderately funny spoof movie, and from what I remember, that was what I got. About 2 ½ years later, I've seen it a second time, and while I was still entertained by a good chunk of the film, it may not have been quite the same as before.Michael Felgate is an art auctioneer from England who currently resides in New York, and is dating a teacher named Gina Vitale. He wants to marry her, but doesn't know about her family! She has relatives, including her father, Frank Vitale, who are members of the Mafia, and this is why she turns down Michael's proposal, as she is afraid that if they marry, he will be lured into the world of organized crime! Michael promises not to let that happen, but this is easier said than done! After they are engaged, Michael finds himself involved in a money laundering, and finds himself questioned by suspicious FBI agents, but he must play along with this scheme in order to survive! It gets worse when Gina accidentally kills the son of a mob boss, and Michael decides to take the blame! The first scene in the film that stands out as really funny to me is the one where the owner of a Chinese restaurant stands at the table where Michael and Gina are sitting, and makes sure Gina eats her fortune cookie. For quite a while, the film goes fairly steadily, sometimes mildly amusing, and sometimes more than that. Another major comic highlight I can't forget is Michael having to pose as a gangster known as "Kansas City Little Big Mickey Blue Eyes" and having to try and speak with a New York Italian accent! The humour is not enough to carry the film, but there is also suspense, which definitely helps. For probably most of the film, it looked like my second viewing would be like my first, but I found that it started to lose its charm towards the end, I'm not sure why, but I was not left fully satisfied. Anyway, I would say this movie certainly doesn't fail miserably as a comedy, but as such, it certainly could have been funnier, though the story and suspense often makes up for that. There are much worse comedies out there, but I can see why "Mickey Blue Eyes" isn't as popular as "Analyze This", a mob spoof which came out the same year.

The shy self - deprecating grin,the slight shaking of the head causing the hair to flop over the forehead,the long English fingers hastily pushing it back in place,the cute stutter......how the Americans love Mr H.Grant's portrayal of what they want to believe an Englishman is like.Shy,gentle and protective of women,the diametric opposite of sweaty macho slobs like Bruce Willis.Mr Grant could clearly never speak the line "Die,motherfxxxxx" with any sort of conviction. However,the fact is the macho slobby Mr Willis can act rings round him and has appeared in a number of fine films by significant directors whereas Mr G. has all the versatility of a housebrick and has been in more terrible Britflicks than anyone except Sir M.Caine. "Mickey Blue Eyes" is an LCN comedy that presumably the LCN were not particularly bothered about despite the fact that Italian - American criminal stereotypes litter the cast.Perhaps their version of the Hays Office considered the movie so nonsensical that nobody would bother with it.Certainly not worth killing an innocent horse for. Mr J.Caan whose teeth,against all natural laws ,seem to have increased in number since he played Sonny Corleone,is knowingly self - parodic in a nauseatingly smug way.He can barely resist winking at the camera. It is a distressing performance,all the more so because he obviously thinks he is being hugely funny Miss J. Tripplehorn has nothing to play with but carries on gamely anyway.Perhaps it was reward enough for her to be cast opposite Mr Grant. The sole purpose of "Mickey Blue Eyes" was to make money.Cash in on Mr Grant's perceived charm and box office.It has no merit whatsoever,not a single touch of individuality,imagination or creativity is visible on the screen.I have never met anybody who actually saw it in a theatre so hopefully we will be spared "Mickey Blue eyes 2". Unless Mr Grant decides he needs a quick couple of million bucks to finance a divorce at some time.Then I wouldn't rule it out.

Is Hugh Grant a good actor? Is he capable of building and portraying a character that we believe in? Does he have depth and breadth in his portfolio? Or is he just lucky because he keeps getting offered the same part to play in return for obscene amounts of financial recompense that are absurdly excessive in relation to the value of his contribution to the the human race and the entertainment of the paying customer? (obviously this phenomenon is not peculiar to Grant alone). Is he any different to ,say, Cary Grant or any of the old time Hollywood matinée idols? In this particular movie he gets his inoffensive-but-just-a-little-bit-stupid Englishman out of the cupboard for another big payday. By now, Grant was big bucks in Hollywoodland and so it didn't really matter what he did. So this whole movie is just a vehicle to take advantage of Grant's celebrity. It came out around the same time as a similar kind of innocent-caught-up-with-the-mob-movie called Analyse This, starring De Niro and Billy Crystal. A far superior film in every way. Probably because of the acting talent of the two main protagonists. Acting talent that Hugh Grant just doesn't have. But then up to now, he hasn't needed any. This movie will probably end up in the cheap DVD bin at your local charity shop, which is where it belongs. Which is a pity in some ways because James Caan puts in his usual good performance. At least he has a great body of work to show his grandchildren, unlike Grant who will probably be forgotten long before he gets any grandchildren. There is just one ray of hope for our floppy haired hero...I hear he's popular in Moscow, or at least Annushka thinks he's a good actor. But then she thinks Garfield is funny too :)