Mickey Blue Eyes (1999)

An English auctioneer proposes to the daughter of a mafia kingpin, only to realize that certain "favors" would be asked of him.

Director:

Kelly Makin

Writers:

Adam Scheinman, Robert Kuhn

Stars:

Hugh Grant, James Caan, Jeanne Tripplehorn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Grant	...	Michael Felgate
James Caan	...	Frank Vitale
Jeanne Tripplehorn	...	Gina Vitale
Burt Young	...	Vito Graziosi
James Fox	...	Philip Cromwell
Joe Viterelli	...	Vinnie D'Agostino
Gerry Becker	...	FBI Agent Bob Connell
Maddie Corman	...	Carol the Photographer
Tony Darrow	...	Angelo
Paul Lazar	...	Ritchie Vitale
Vincent Pastore	...	Al
Frank Pellegrino	...	Sante
Scott Thompson	...	FBI Agent Lewis
John Ventimiglia	...	Johnny Graziosi
Margaret Devine	...	Helen, Michael's Assistant

Storyline

An art-house auctioneer finds himself getting in deeper and deeper with the mob after learning that his teacher girlfriend is the daughter of a major mobster. Things get worse when a godfather decides to launder his no-talent son's gory paintings through the art house and gets the FBI into the picture. Everything then falls apart when the son is accidentally shot.

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Plot Keywords:

auctioneer | mafia | mobster | fbi | painting | 

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Taglines:

A romantic comedy you can't refuse.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some violence and sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

Castle Rock

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 August 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

A keresztapus

Filming Locations:

Knickerbocker Bar & Grill -33 University Place, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£977,227 (UK) (20 August 1999)

Gross:

SGD 457,309 (Singapore) (26 November 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Simian Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the mobster's names is Tony Two-Toes, which is the name of a mobster in Eraser. The two films share several cast members, including Joe Viterelli, who was Tony in Eraser.

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Goofs

The length of the drawstrings on Gina's red cape change during their walk when she agrees to marry Mike.

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Quotes

Michael Felgate: [after learning Frank is a mobster] Note to self... rent Goodfellas, Casino, Godfather 1, 2, 3.

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Crazy Credits

As the movie ends, "THE THE END" is displayed on the screen. This refers to Frank's restaurant, The La Trattoria, which translates to The The Trattoria.

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Connections

References The Godfather: Part III (1990)

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Soundtracks

"Just a Gigolo"
Written by Leonello Casucci, Irving Caesar
Performed by Louis Prima

User Reviews

Good movie, rating seems a bit low to me.

This is a comedy all the way, and one of the funnier "gangster" comedies I've seen, in tone reminds me a lot of "Analyze This." Hugh Grant is the boyfriend and Jeanne Tripplehorn is his girl, but she refuses when he proposes because her father is a mobster (James Caan, in a perfect role) and she knows they would suck in her innocent auctioneer. The writing is refreshingly good and Grant's delivery makes it go. Here I disagree strongly with critic Ebert who thinks Grant was not right for the role.

My favorite scene, I laughed so hard I had to back it up and watch again, Grant has to pretend in a restaurant that he is "Mickey Blue Eyes" from a Kansas City gang, and his poor imitation of NYC gangster talk is hilarious. This film has no lasting value but is very entertaining, enough so that I think it deserves an "8". I saw it on DVD, nothing remarkable about the presentation, but nothing wrong either.