Wise Guys

...and the laugh I got was when I saw how many positive reviews this bomb received. It absolutely STUNK

between two very serious and successful gangster movies ( Scarface and The Untouchable ), DePalma shot another crime epic called in the 80's called Wise Guys. Well, he changed one's tack here completely. Wise Guys may handle about emotionless gangsters and vengeful extorts, it is in fact a wacky comedy and a light-hearted spoof towards the genre that DePalma loves so much himself. All the stereotypical mob-characters are there and all the gangster-clichés are being mocked (the scene where DeVito has to start the big Boss ' car while everybody is waiting for the possible bomb to explode is hilarious). DeVito and Piscopo are still only errand-boys for the Newark mafia and they're sick of their jobs. They want to do a little double-cross on the mob but they fail completely and have to run for their lives. That is more or less the plot of Wise Guys but there are enough extra twists and surprises added to this to give you a very good time...a great ending included. Of course, it doesn't come close to the other gangster-epics DePalma shot do to its playful character. But I guess DePalma and the complete cast was aware of that as well. In general, a nice change and fun to watch...the only irritating aspect from time to time is DeVito's overacting!

This has to be Brian dePalma's best film to date. Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo are two losers who get the crummiest jobs and errands from a Newark mob boss (Dan Hedaya). After truly "dissing" the mob boss to the tune of $100,000, our two heroes head to Atlantic City for safety. However, they travel in the prized convertible of the bosses tough, enormous right hand man, Frankie (Captain Lou Albano in a hysterical, priceless performance) They even have Frankie's gold card! Thru elaborate, strange run-ins, DeVito and Piscopo wipe out the entire Newark mob clan, and live happily ever after. The performances are all over the top, and it's great! Hedaya's mob boss who prays when he's at his angriest, DeVito's unbearable older female relatives, Hedaya's mob (Including Frank Vincent in a haircut and sunglasses only mobsters wear), and Harvey Kietel doing a wonderful, soft-spoken turn as the well respected Atlantic City mob boss. The physical comedy is wonderful. We know Frankie is annoyingly careful with his "baby", a classic convertible. When DeVito and Piscopo get revenge by taking it out on the highway and guzzling fast food (and smearing it all over the dashboard!), you'll either howl with laughter or just gape. Sample dialog: Mobster looking at big piece of fabric: "Frankie, Awfully strange looking pillowcase." Frankie (Mad as Hell): "That's not my pillowcase, that's my underwear!"

"Wise Guys" is probably the least regarded movie that Brian De Palma has ever made. After the financial failure of "Body Double", but before his blockbuster "Untouchables", this flat little comedy is an attempt to regain some clout and profit for the studios. A gangster comedy in the vein of "The Freshman" (Brando) or "Analyse This" (De Niro), "Wise Guys" revolves around two friends who bumble from one silly situation to the next as they "try to make it big". There are traces of "Abbot and Costello" and traces of the "Two Stooges" (De Palma names numerous characters after each troupe), but the comedy feels dated and needs more wit. Worse still, "Wise Guys" finds De Palma reigning back all his better instincts, the film devoid of the flamboyant camera work which so defines the rest of the director's filmography. 5/10- Worth no viewings.

Sure DePalma is not known for comedy, but this movie has a lot of laughs. A great one is Frank the Fixers toe nail cutting scene. Yea toe nails!It's not high brow comedy but Devito and Piscopo work well together. Harry and Moe are small time runners who are not cut out for mob life and look to escape it after a mishap at a race track. The two lifelong friends are then hired to do each other in. It was nice to see a more humane side of characters in a mob movie, then the good fellas or Saprano type shoot them up with no remorse. I would suggest this movie to people who like to laugh or nice twists in plots. Most of the movie buffs I know never heard of this movie but don't let that detract you. Remember we all heard of Titanic and that movie sucked!

Let's just say it up front: Brian De Palma doesn't direct comedies, at least not as a major part of his career. When he's done so it's usually in the realm of black comedies or satires, like his early films (Greetings/Hi Mom) or the rightfully maligned Bonfire of the Vanities. His sense of comedy is BIG (note the caps) and broad, but his farce is nowhere near the kind of genius of Mel Brooks. His slapstick is so large and spread out in scenes that it makes Looney Tunes look subtle (having Captain Lou Albino as one of the main bad-guys, the "Fixer" as he's called, is part of it). And the story is fairly idiotic too. Yet I found myself enjoying Wise Guys, but for the little it aimed for. This isn't a grand vision like De Palma would immediately after go for in The Untouchables and Casualties of War. It was a trifle, a way to test himself in a low budget with actors he hadn't worked with before- chiefly stars Danny De Vito and (yes, star) Joe Piscapo. They play grunts whose job is to serve at the behest of mob boss Castelo (Dan Hedaya, hamming it up like it's nobody's business). When the two dopes lay a bet on a horse that isn't the one Castelo bet on and loses, they're each given a charge: each must kill the other to prove loyalty. This, of course, is another set-up for a series of missteps in the two knuckleheads running away from the Castelo bosses, all the way down in Atlantic City as Harry tries to find his Uncle Mike, very much dead. The subtitle for the film could be called 'Wackiness Ensues', and De Palma doesn't let anything go past as being unnoticeable. Particularly is one scene, perhaps De Palma's most daring (or just recognizably 'De Palma) cinematographic-ally when Harry has to go turn on 'the car' that might explode any moment (the shot speeds up and does a 360 as everyone runs away from the scene, a hoot-take on his usual style). And in the script, some lines of dialog and set-ups are so blunt you can feel the force at the back of your head. But somehow, against all of the odds of the 'ho-hum' quality of the set-up, it's fun because of the acting. Joe Piscapo is mentioned today, just his name, as a punch-line, but there was a time when he was at least halfway amusing (mostly in skits with Eddie Murphy on SNL), and here he's let loose with the a character like Moe who, I guess compared to Harry, is the straight guy depending on the scene. Harry, meanwhile, gives Danny De Vito a real chance to chomp at the bit: he's so over the top, but he's also a believable luck-believer (he goes for it the way Bible-thumpers go for God), and in those moments when Piscapo falls totally flat, somehow De Vito comes back in to make things fun in the delirious way. Others like Lou Albino and, on a more subtle-menacing scale, Harvey Keitel, do a competent job in their roles. So, going in and expecting a really great comedy or just an interesting piece of art will mean some disappointment. As a juicy diversion that ask for nothing except a few chuckles by way of the New Jersey Turnpike, it does its job reasonably well; De Palma fans who find themselves going through his thrillers and blockbusters first will come across this, possibly, last in his catalog. But it's far from his worst.

One of the funniest and entertaining mob flicks I have ever seen. The talented Danny De Vito and Joe Piscopo shine in Wise Guys with a ton of laughs. But what totally made this movie for me was Captain Lou... The Fixer. His character was da bomb - a rough, foul mouthed, tough guy that was always ready to kick some donkey :o) The trouble these guys get into and how they try to solve the problems with da boss is really something else haha. I see a lot of lower ratings on the film here on the site... don't let those low ballers fool you. This movie is a classic, with a ton of legendary Hollywood talent that you should check out if you have the opportunity to do so.

One of the most entertaining movies ever made. A true Classic! Watched as a teenager and grew up trying to emulate a lot of this movie using it's timeless one liners even today. Funny, smart and exciting. Met Joe Piscapo decades later and used the "thank you Mr. Acavano" he was blown away. Sure he went home that night and said Holy sh** that guy remembers the lines! I watch it twice a year, still kills me all the time!

This is a great movie if you like the life. They teach you how to outsmart the mob and come out on top. Harry & Moe want to be somebody but when they make a mistake it could cost them their lives. They take off to Atlantic City and hide out from the mob bosses and from their-selves only to find the true meaning of friendship and loyalty. Casting such talented people as Danny Devito, Joe Piscopo, Dan Hedaya, Harvey Keitel, Captain Lou Albano, Patti Lupone, Ray Sharkey, working from a script by George Gallo, produced by Aaron Russo, DePalma put his trademark stamp on this film, and turned out something so funny that you will be screaming with laughter the entire time. Yes, even though it is a comedy, DePalma throws in a terrific last minute twist that is utterly climatic and fantastic and hilarious. Everyone in this is hilarious, especially Albano, Devito, and Piscopo, who never did a funnier film before or after this one. Not to be mistaken and/or confused with the dreadful "Johnny Dangerously". Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

I've just caught it on TCM and can't wait the 5 weeks till it comes out on DVD. This is a gangster spoof at its best, full of lovable characters well played by top actors of the mob genre. Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo make a great loser couple, Dan Hedaya stars as the dreary mob boss, whose henchmen include Frank Vincent and hilarious Lou Albano that steals every scene he's in. We even get to see Harvey Keitel in a classy supporting role! The plot is simple and has been done before and after, but rarely with such charm and lightness. With a current rating of 5.2, it's a severely underrated gangster comedy able to deliver entertaining evening for every fan of the genre.