The Wannabe (2015)

People are voting emotionally.

Let's be realistic.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Thomas idolizes the Mob and especially 'the Teflon Don' – John Gotti, seeing him as a modern day Robin Hood and the incidental crimes as sort of a necessary evil – sort of thing. Anyway we join them in 1992 when Gotti is on trial and the Teflon becomes 'Velcro' as all the charges start to stick.Now Thomas is going out with a girl of questionable intellect and indeed taste who is brilliantly played by Patricia Arquette. Desperate to become part of the Gangsta scene Thomas hatches a plan to free his idol but in so doing he sets off a chain of events that he will become useless to control.So is it any good? Well it is very watchable but sometimes feels very small in that it is a very personal tale about – essentially- two people and how they believe their own bull. Whilst this does not detract from the entertainment it also leave unmolested the underlying issues of worshipping the worst in society. That said it is still a well made and acted film that will appeal to any who like mob lore but it is not in the same league as the 'Goodfelllas' of this world.

So seems I ought to write my first review on IMDb for this movie's seriously overlooked cult-potential..... It's a film for 'cineastes' with more to do with subjectivity and indulgence than the mafia...Film students from the 1960s through the 1990s ought to love it - in no particular order there's hints of Godard, Rohmer, early Scorsese, da Sica, Tati, Tarantino et al. So in terms of 'subject' the film is actually ABOUT film, about subjectivity and self-indulgence, belonging to a family of cultural reflections like The King of Comedy, The Dreamers, Harold and Maude, Dog Day Afternoon, The Master or Be Kind Rewind.But is it good enough, is it entertaining enough to keep the company of the genres it pastiches? Probably not quite, but maybe it's today's society that has moved on making irony more important than hope. Or maybe it's the art film that has moved on, now that most technical innovations like jump-cutting are now back-in-the-day. Or maybe the script is a little loose, and the technical innovation a little meagre.So the film can be rated at 5/10 it's a 'wotever' experience, or else at 9/10 it's an early film by the next Tarantino, or an old-fashioned film like Truffaut that will mature with age.Remembering there are still some French women that adore Truffaut as a national treasure 50 years on, it would be lazy NOT to watch this movie, if you know something about film history.

I am not sure what to think about this movie. It shows an obsessed man trying everything he can to worm his way into the Gambino Crime family in New York in 1992. He is obviously delusional and focused on his quest and gets involved with a women who enables him instead of helping him find a way out of his fantasy. The story follows Thomas as he spirals out of control on his way down the rabbit hole. With the Scorsese name attached this got made but the writer/director Nick Sandow did not do anyone any favours as this could have been much better. I usually do not like it when the same person writes and directs as they are too close to the subject and can't see obvious errors that a fresh set of eyes might catch. Plus, they often fall in love with their writing and leave in certain scenes and scenarios that don't necessarily move the story along. If it does not advance the story...leave it out.

"Don't write the history books yet." Thomas (Piazza) has become obsessed with the trial of John Gotti and thinks it is his mission to find a way to get him off. When his plan falls through He tries to find another way to become a wise-guy. The only way he can think to do this is to begin robbing mafia hangouts. Together him and his wife Rose (Arquette) complete a string of hold-ups that finally gets him noticed. I am a huge fan of any type of mafia movie. There was a fantastic movie called Rob The Mob that came out a few years ago that dealt with this same story. Like that one this one is also very good and I really liked it. There were some differences between the two but the biggest one was that Thomas was played as someone who talks a big game, but is different when he is in action in this movie. To me that little change really added to the realism of this and added to the overall feel of the movie. The acting is really good in this, but Piazza's portrayal is really what makes the movie and I highly recommend this. Overall, a very good movie that really makes you relate to Thomas, something that is usually hard to do in a mafia movie. I give this a high B+.