WiseGirls

Extremely minor effort from director David Anspaugh could not find a distributor upon completion, which is why I saw it on Cinemax the other night. It plods, it's underwritten and confusing, and Mira Sorvino(playing a troubled young waitress at a mob-infested Italian restaurant on Staten Island)looks wrung out, but the film does benefit from a colorful supporting turn by Mariah Carey as a foul-mouthed waitressing vet. ** from ****

It's really a shame that this movie did not get at least a limited theatrical release. Compared to some of the crap that did get into theaters last years, this movie is a masterpiece. But seriously, I really did not know what to expect when I rented this, but what I got was a movie that I very much enjoyed and a movie that I thought was superbly acted. Oscar winner Mira Sorvino is great, and plays a woman with a troubled past who moves to New York to escape it and to be close to her elderly grandmother. In desperation, she takes a job at a fancy Italian restaurant, that, unknown to her, is run be the mob. At the restaurant she befriends two waitresses played by Mariah Carey and Melora Walters, and what develops is a wonderful friendship, that is until a secret that one of them has is revealed and the illegal activities of the restaurant come crashing down around them. It really is a great movie and I strongly suggest it. All actresses do a great job, but the big surprise is Mariah Carey. She is great and projects a confidence and attitude that is unmatched by her co-starts. This really, really should have been her mainstream acting debut, not the flop Glitter that has tagged her as an untalented actress, because as this film proves, she isn't and I think we can expect more great roles for her. So give this film a chance, it is definitely one of the better movies of it's type that I have seen for awhile.

I watched this movie very late at night and was very surprised as to how good it really was. Mira Sorvino was very good and very believable in her part. When she told the other two women why she couldn't get interested in anybody, the plot changed to something more than just a "gangster movie". Mariah Carey did a good job as well and didn't seem to try and "take over" the film. Melora Walters role did a change as well and the outcome had more action than expected. Making Mira do something with the body of the man that the gangster had killed was unexplainable but she was truly believable in her reaction to what she was expected to do with the body. This movie is worth watching more than once. Maybe you'll be surprised as to how good the actors do in the film and how GREAT Mira Sorvino was in it as well.

It made me laugh and it made me cry, the acting was excellent and storyline was great as well. Mira, was great as always she did an incredible job with her character. I was also blown away by Mariah's great acting skills, she definitely proved herself here. So of course I stood up and clapped at the end of the movie along with the rest of the audience at Sundance.

I have to say this film wasn't at the top of my renting list but after seeing it,I started telling other people to rent it also. The girls are great leads and the supporting cast is awesome as well. Veteran film actor Arthur Nascarella is on target once more as crime boss Mr. Santalino. I was so into his performance I went back to look up other films he had worked in. He is truly an awesome talent. His son Frankie played by Christian Maelen turned in a fine performance as well. You couldn't tell whether these guys were cool or just out of their minds. Their chemistry as father and son was fantastic as was the chemistry between Mira, Mariah, and Melora. Good Job to director David Anspagh

Complex plot (reasonably) with good acting, even from Mariah. Made Sopranos look tame. Medical scenes were realistic (I am an advanced degreed nurse so I know a little about that). It was a little bloody but realistic. I really liked the ending.

i would give anything for the time i spent watching this movie back. the story was predictable, the acting was bad (except for Mira Sorvino) it was an over all waste of my time. I canNOT believe Mira actually made this movie.... was she hurtin' for cash????

This is a good girl buddy movie for the most part. It even shows that Mariah Carey can act even if she is not yet at the level of excellence as Mira Sorvino and Melora Walters. The acting is realistic to a certain extent as is the screenplay with the possible problem of stereotyping Italian-Americans a little too much as members of the Mob. A little bit too much of Hollywood writing the criminal history rather than reality writing it. This seems a very under rated movie that should be seen by Mira Sorvino fans. Shows that the quality she demonstrated in the Mighty Aphrodite was more than her having a few good weeks when she good act really well.

When Mariah Carey gets my 'best supporting actor' award for a film, I know I've got a problem. Whoever cooked up this awful story of a tragic widow trying to start fresh as a waitress in an Italian restaurant with a big back door should have saved everyone the pain of enduring its incarnation, which is horribly acted with the cringe-worthy moments rolling in far too often. The closest thing we'll see to realistic drama tickling the mafia's underbelly this side of The Godfather and Scarface is the 'Best of The Sopranos' DVD release. With someone like Mariah Carey in the cast, the least we could have expected is a decent soundtrack to pack a little Marlon Brando in its punch. Unfortunately we're left with something a little short of Danny De Vito.

Many of you are right. This movie should have been Mariah Carey's debut movie performance. If this movie were to be released in theaters, people would definitely appreciate Mariah Carey even more. When I first heard about this movie, I was really anxious to see it. I wanted to see Mariah in a movie that was actually a crime drama. This movie actually exceeded my expectations because it was really entertaining, with great performances by everyone. Mira Sorvino is a great actress as the lead role, but I think Mariah Carey's performance really stole the movie. She enlightened the movie, providing comedy and drama simultaneously. Definitely worth watching.