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| Directed by Kelly Makin; Starring Hugh Grant, James Caan, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Burt Young, James Fox, Joe Viterelli, Gerry Becker, Maddie Corman, and Tony Darrow |
I know that I can be a little bit of a sour fellow when I see bad films, but the only films that I dislike that I can be rather nice to are those that are likable, though unable to work. That is such the case with Mickey Blue Eyes. Very little of the film is funny, a problem when the film is a simple comedy, but I still liked many things about the film. Sure it was maybe one laugh every five minutes if that, at least the film has charm (something even the hilarious Drop Dead Gorgeous can’t admit to having). I was not really expecting some film of Bowfinger proportions, but at least I did laugh a few times.
One person that can be thanked for the charm of the film is Hugh Grant, who continually shows off the fact that he has a certain element that works for him in romantic comedies (a thing that Robert DeNiro does not even have, though I’d be interested to see Grant try to do Travis Bickle). The latest stuff from Grant have all been quite on the shoulders of Grant, especially in Notting Hill. Mickey Blue Eyes, for all its worth, is no exception.
The film is a The Godfather type comedy with many jokes playing off the entire mobster image. Sure many parts of the film were reminiscent of Analyze This (would mob comedies be the equivalent of Antz and A Bug’s Life competition last year?). About the relationship that follows after a man (Grant) become engaged with the daughter (Tripplehorn) of a mobster (Caan) and begins to find himself “one of the guys.” He attempts to keep completely uninvolved with the mafia he is marrying into, but after the delivery men are instructed to make sure that deliveries to the auction house he manages are perfect, it is then expected that he do a favor, which leads to another favor, which leads to…
Not the best film I’ve seen this year, nor the best mob comedy as Analyze This is three times funnier. I liked certain scenes of the film, as well as the performances of Caan and Grant, though Tripplehorn is in her normal bad actress mode. Charming and likable, Mickey Blue Eyes seems to be missing one thing that is needed for comedies…a funny script.
