The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)

Charlie (Mickey Rourke) is a slick restaurant manager who dreams of owning his own restaurant. His petty criminal cousin Paulie (Eric Roberts) is a waiter. The owner discovers Paulie stealing and fires both of them. Paulie has a scheme to break into a safe. He brings in locksmith Barney and a reluctant Charlie. A cop is killed in the heist. They steal $150k. Charlie is besides himself that Paulie kept the fact that the money belongs to mob boss Bed Bug Eddie (Burt Young) from him. Charlie's girlfriend (Daryl Hannah) tells him that she's pregnant.Wow! What a performance! The DVD comes with supposed praises like "Explosively funny." (LA Times) and "high-voltage movie that produces tears of laughter" (NY Daily News). The problem is that the movie doesn't come with jokes. The unintentional hilarity all comes from the ridiculous over-the-top Eric Roberts performance. It is an incredible thing to behold and crazier than Al Pacino's Scarface. It almost comes off as a spoof of a gangster movie. One should see this to believe it. I almost didn't believe it.

Mickey and Eric Roberts certainly gave career defining performances in this 1984 film. They are cousins, the lowest of low, who resort to a heist after losing their jobs. Roberts is the dim-wit here with that effeminate voice. Mickey is the suave guy who owes money to just about everyone.Unfortunately, they steal the loot from a big gangster and there is plenty of police corruption shown here.Geraldine Page received her 7th Oscar nomination here in the role of the very common mother of the cop who died accidentally while the heist was taking place.She was absolutely memorable in her two scenes, turning the tables on corrupt police.The film shows that even two losers can win out when pushed into adversity.

Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts are well matched in this nicely directed, acted, and written character study / drama. The characters they create are definitely memorable and the situations in which they find themselves are compelling. Scripted by Vincent Patrick from his own novel, it's simply fine storytelling that keeps its grip for two solid hours.Rourke plays Charlie, a regular Joe whose loyalty to his screw-up cousin Paulie (Roberts) gets him into all sorts of trouble. Paulies' schemes get Charlie fired from his job, and when Paulie draws Charlie into a plan to steal some money, he doesn't tell him from whom they're stealing. And that man is Bed Bug Eddie (Burt Young), a mafia boss who is understandably going to be more than a little angry.There are all sorts of interesting characters in this involving, heavily layered story, and the film has a hell of a phenomenal cast as well, full of incredibly good character actors. Among the many familiar faces are Kenneth McMillan (endearing as the third participant in the robbery), Tony Musante, M. Emmet Walsh, Jack Kehoe, Philip Bosco, Val Avery, Joe Grifasi, Tony DiBenedetto, John Finn, Ed O'Ross, Frank Vincent, Anna Levine, and William Duell. They're all entertaining to watch, but Geraldine Page is especially riveting as the mother of a corrupt detective. Her scenes are the best in the film.Roberts - who totally rocks a perm hairdo - really goes all out sometimes in his performance; one can't accuse this guy of phoning it in. Rourke, overall more restrained, is quite likable; Daryl Hannah isn't bad as Rourkes' frustrated girlfriend.Director Stuart Rosenberg ("Cool Hand Luke") has a great feel for the neighbourhood in his handling of the material. And Patrick injects some amusing comedy bits - such as Paulies' revenge against a portly parking patrol officer - into the story that provide some counterpoint to the drama. The denouement really is too abrupt, but on the whole this is a really enjoyable tale worth catching for fans of the performers and genre.Eight out of 10.

As a fan, i am at the hands of my stars and their filmography. Here, the star is Darryl but her movie is forgettable.The fault comes from the two lead actors that irritates me with their big, loud (and empty) attitudes: Rourke and Roberts. Roberts as a fag desperates me and Rourke macho spirit makes me throw away. Fortunately, all the other but characters are rather interesting because they show all a personal trait, maybe due to the fact that the author himself wrote the screenplay.Sure, Darryl as a dancer and filming locations in the New York of 1984 are great but they aren't enough to win against the terrible duo.