Mafia! (1998)
8/10
Kudos For Godfather Spoof
12 February 2006
Here's a very funny spoof on The Godfather story. This is a Leslie Nielsen-type silly parody, except the late Lloyd Bridges played the lead role instead Nielson.

Actually Jay Mohr was more of the lead actor in here, narrating the film and taking Al Pacino's Godfather role while Christina Applegate took Diane Keaton's character.

There are a number of laugh-out-loud lines in this movie and a number of overdone slapstick scenes. As with any comedy in which the material comes at you at a rapid pace (see the Marx Brothers films from 70 years ago to see some of the origins of comedic mayhem), you get a lot funny and not-so-funny. They come at you so fast you can hardly keep up. I found that there were a lot of funny lines written on background buildings, street signs, etc. on this film. You almost have to freeze-frame some scenes to "read" all the jokes, much less hear them.

This movie did do something that Hollywood films rarely have done: poke fun at a Democrat. Usually, the cheap shots are reserved for Republcians (Nixon, Gingrich, Reagan, Bush, etc) but here we have the famous "But I never had sex with that woman!" line delivered in a obvious reference. Well, good for them. About time the Liberals were recipients of a cheap shot or two. It only happens about once every 25 years in films. So, I give this film points for being "fair and balanced."

Also points should be awarded for having several actors from the actual Godfather films make appearances here, too. The film was dedicated "in loving memory" to Bridges, so I assume this was his last movie. Well, he certainly went out with a laugh.
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