Boca (7 Mar. 1999)

The capos discuss what to do about the local soccer coach, while Junior's mouth causes him some embarrassment.

Director:

Andy Wolk

Writers:

David Chase (creator), Jason Cahill,

Stars:

James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
James Gandolfini	...	Tony Soprano
Lorraine Bracco	...	Dr. Jennifer Melfi
Edie Falco	...	Carmela Soprano
Michael Imperioli	...	Christopher Moltisanti
Dominic Chianese	...	Junior Soprano
Vincent Pastore	...	Salvatore 'Big Pussy' Bonpensiero (credit only)
Steven Van Zandt	...	Silvio Dante
Tony Sirico	...	Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri
Robert Iler	...	A.J. Soprano
Jamie-Lynn Sigler	...	Meadow Soprano
Nancy Marchand	...	Livia Soprano
John Ventimiglia	...	Artie Bucco
John Heard	...	Det. Vin Makazian
Kathrine Narducci	...	Charmaine Bucco (as Katherine Narducci)
Al Sapienza	...	Mikey Palmice

Storyline

Everyone seems to be under surveillance by the FBI. Uncle Junior decides to take a holiday with a girlfriend Roberta Sanfilipo. His biggest worry is that she might tell anyone about his particular skills when it come to oral sex. When Tony let's him know he knows all about it, Jubior retaliates by letting it be known Tony's seeing a psychiatrist. He's also thinking of taking it a step further. Tony and several of the other men take an interest in the girl's soccer coach at their daughter's school. He's a good coach and they like him. They're upset when they read that he's leaving to coach a college team - until they learn he's sleeping with one of his students, Ally Vandermeed, who has attempted suicide. Larry Boy Barese and others are looking to move their moms into the same home as Livia - which is proving to be a great place to hide their money and others incriminating material.

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Plot Keywords:

implied cunnilingus | gangster

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 March 1999 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brad Grey Television, Chase Films, Soprano Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This episode revolves around Uncle Junior's penchant for performing oral sex on his girlfriend. The episode's title - "Boca" - means "mouth" in Italian.

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Goofs

When Tony is reading the newspaper article about Coach Hauser accepting the job at the University of Rhode Island, you can see the article stating that the University is located in Providence, Rhode Island. The University of Rhode Island is located in Kingston, RI. While there is a small campus in Providence, this is technically the University of Rhode Island: College of Continuing Education. Besides, the location of where he would be coaching soccer would be at the Kingston campus.

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Quotes

Corrado 'Junior' Soprano: I'm sick and tired of him. Having to make excuses for him all the time.
Mikey Palmice: It isn't right.
Corrado 'Junior' Soprano: 'Cause he's a fuckin' mental weakling.
Mikey Palmice: I know.
Corrado 'Junior' Soprano: You don't know shit, Mikey! He's seeing a psychiatrist, for Christ's sake. How about that, huh? My nephew is seeing a psychiatrist! Makes me wanna cry.
Mikey Palmice: No shit.
Corrado 'Junior' Soprano: Indictments being prepared. He's spilling his guts.
Mikey Palmice: I fuckin' knew it.
Corrado 'Junior' Soprano: No you didn't fuckin' know it! I just told you! God knows how much of our family business he airs, if the place is bugged.
Mikey Palmice: That ...
[...]

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Connections

References The Godfather (1972)

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Soundtracks

"There Was a Time"
Composed by James Brown
Performed by James Gandolfini

User Reviews

"They made me an offer I couldn't refuse"

After the Goodfellas reference in Episode 8, the show gets more ambitious by directly quoting The Godfather, and in a context that is all but majestic on top of that. And yet, as usual, the result is a masterpiece in televised storytelling.

The person who makes that remark is the soccer coach who has been training the girls' team for years. As many of the Italians have their daughters in the team (Tony, Artie and Silvio among them), they are not very happy to learn he is leaving. Their feelings do change quite quickly, however, the moment they hear he might have abused some of the girls. Meanwhile, Carmela becomes aware of an embarrassing detail in Uncle Junior's sex life and can't resist the urge to tell her husband, who naturally starts mocking Junior right away. Too bad the old fella ain't in the mood for jokes, especially after hearing from Livia that Tony is seeing a psychiatrist.

This is one of the finest hours of The Sopranos, as it juggles an uncomfortable storyline and twisted humor with a precision that's mainly unseen in mainstream TV shows. Rape and child abuse have never been a problem for HBO (the former was featured often on Oz), but this time the incriminating act is not depicted on screen: Meadow's harrowing recollections and her father's gut-induced reaction are more than enough. On the flip-side, the serial's acerbic, adult humor emerges at its most perverse in a conversation between Carmela, Uncle Junior and Tony: "Uncle Jun', how was Boca?" the Soprano boss asks about his uncle's most recent vacation. "Lovely! I don't go down enough." is the answer. "That's not what I heard." Carm comments sarcastically (just to enhance the irony: "boca" means "mouth" in Spanish). Even for a network that made its name with Sex and the City, such a double entendre must have been quite edgy when the episode first aired in 1999; that it works, and instills dread as well as laughter is all due to the careful acting (Dominic Chianese's above all), and the scene stands out as a masterclass in great writing, also for its foreboding aspect (I mean, Junior can't let this kind of insult pass by unnoticed).

Overall, an excellent episode and, ironically given The Sopranos is the best drama series ever produced, a really good laugh.