Rent The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
3.3 of 5 from 63 ratings
1h 56min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Turn up the Sinatra, put on a leather jacket, and slip into a rollicking, high-voltage movie that produces tears of laughter. Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts and Daryl Hannah create emotion-charged characters who tingle with energy and play with conviction in this modern-day classic that's as robust and powerful as Italian espresso! In New York's Little Italy, smooth-talking hustler Charlie (Rourke) works in a restaurant and dreams of one day buying his own with his girlfriend Diane (Hannah). His wiry wheeler-dealer cousin Paulie (Roberts) waits tables, skims money off checks and is always scheming to score big. But they're all about to pull a scam on the wrong guy - Bed Bug Eddie (Burt Young), the Mafia king of Greenwich Village! Now these small-time con men are in big-time trouble - trouble so big that even their mobster uncle might not be able to save them! - Actors:
- Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Daryl Hannah, Geraldine Page, Kenneth McMillan, Tony Musante, M. Emmet Walsh, Burt Young, Jack Kehoe, Philip Bosco, Val Avery, Joe Grifasi, Tony Dibenedetto, Ronald Maccone, Betty Miller, Thomas A. Carlin, Leonard Termo, Marty Brill, John Bentley, Ed Setrakian
- Directors:
- Stuart Rosenberg
- Producers:
- Gene Kirkwood, Hawk Koch
- Writers:
- Vincent Patrick
- Aka:
- Der Pate von Greenwich Village
- Studio:
- MGM Home Entertainment
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Drama
- Collections:
- Cinema Paradiso's 2024 Centenary Club: Part 3, Heist Movies: Masterminds and Mavericks, People of the Pictures, Remembering M. Emmet Walsh, A Brief History of Film...
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Reviews (2) of The Pope of Greenwich Village
Underdogs+Overacting=Unforgettable - The Pope of Greenwich Village review by griggs
Mickey Rourke smoulders, Eric Roberts yells, and somehow it all just about works. The Pope of Greenwich Village is one of those scrappy little crime films that feels like it’s making things up as it goes—but in a good way. Two cousins try to hustle their way into a better life, mess with the wrong people, and get in way over their heads. There’s a dead body, a bag of cash, and a mobster who’s not shy about ordering thumbs removed. You get the vibe.
Rourke plays in cool—slick hair, half-smile, quiet rage—while Robert’s is pure chaos in a pastel suit. He’s either giving the performance of his life or testing the limits of volume. Either way, he’s never boring. The whole thing has that sweaty, desperate energy of people who think they’re in The Godfather but are really just trying to pay pay rent.
It’s rough around the edges and occasionally loses the plot, but it’s got heart, style, and a killer New York vibe. Flawed, but kind of fantastic.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Mediocrefellas - The Pope of Greenwich Village review by Count Otto Black
I'm really not sure what this film is trying to be: a mashup of "Mean Streets" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", perhaps? Judging by the trailer, they tried to market it as a feelgood buddy comedy, yet there's almost nothing in it that would make anyone in their right mind laugh. The central joke appears to be the notion that smooth, super-cool wise guy Charlie (Mickey Rourke) not only puts up with his immature, irresponsible, obnoxious, and altogether worthless third cousin Paulie (Eric Roberts), but goes along with all his harebrained schemes and excuses their inevitable failure without ever becoming more than temporarily annoyed because Italians are genetically compelled to behave like this. Or something. It's as funny as it sounds.
Mickey Rourke is actually pretty good as the decent guy with an ego bigger than the Bronx who's not quite as smart as he thinks he is. The problem is Eric Roberts. Almost every second he's on screen, he's incredibly annoying. From the very start, not only everyone in the audience but everyone in the movie knows he's a total waste of space, and Eric Roberts never ceases to remind us of this by overacting in a way that'll have you grating your teeth at five-minute intervals. He seems to be at least borderline retarded, he has no redeeming features whatsoever, and Eric Roberts' performance is so weird I often couldn't figure out whether or not Paulie was supposed to come across as screamingly gay (apparently not). Seriously, as soon as the instantly unbearable Paulie appeared and was established to be somebody Charlie reluctantly loved because he was family, I assumed he'd be killed about ten minutes in, and the plot would revolve around Charlie's revenge. Sadly not - Paulie's in the whole damn movie!
The uneasy mix of feeble humor and watered-down grittiness never works at all. One minute we're supposed to roar with laughter at a very contrived gag involving powerful laxatives, the next people are getting body-parts cut off. And since the focus throughout is firmly on two men, the supporting cast are wasted, including Daryl Hannah, whose character might as well have been named Eye Candy. Still, I suppose if somebody had to spend most of their screen-time doing aerobics in a leotard, better her than Eric Roberts.
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