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| | Salesrank: 244884
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| Used Price: $46.81 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
This hapless comedy may actually work a lot better on video than it did in theaters. A parody of contemporary mob movies (with a few sidebars skewering such hits as Forrest Gump and The English Patient), Mafia! most closely resembles the first two Godfather films in its generational saga of a gangster family. Lloyd Bridges plays Don Cortino, a native Sicilian who presides over a crime syndicate, and Jay Mohr plays his Michael Corleone-like son. The film is by Jim Abrahams, formerly of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker directing team (Airplane!, The Naked Gun), single- handedly trotting out the old dumb-joke aesthetic that worked wonderfully a lifetime ago but looks a little creaky in the era of There's Something About Mary. Silly allusions to every crime film (GoodFellas, Casino) produced in the last three decades and featuring at least one wise guy or made man find their way into Mafia!'s gags, but most are arbitrary and shrugged off. The film tanked in theaters for good reason; on the other hand, Mafia! might have a lot more to offer if you're slumped on your own couch at the end of a long day, ready for brain-dead entertainment and absolutely apathetic about comic integrity. Even a film this instantly stale on the big screen might have its place in video posterity. -- Tom Keogh
Jane Austen's Mafia! [Region 2] Reviews:
Hilarious satire with some obvious goofs 
2009-08-13 - In this "Godfather" takeoff, Lloyd Bridges plays Don Cortino, this film's Godfather. The film parodies every major Mafia film and includes some send-offs on others as well. It's slap-stick, haphazard and mostly funny.
It's also low-budget. It's clear the film's pretty low-budget. Even I can see the film equipment and props used to create the very special effect in the funeral scene. I don't usually catch these goofs so they are pretty apparent.
Balance the laughter with the bloopers if you can. The film did not do well in the theatres, but it's fun with a group of friends. I'd watch this one with a bunch of friends, some pizza, and libations and see what happens.
Rebecca Kyle, August 2009
Very Good 'Godfather' Spoof 
2009-02-27 - 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, you get a lot of funny stuff and a lot not-so-funny. They come at you so fast you can hardly keep up.
For added laughs, check out the written material on background buildings, street signs, etc. on this film. You almost have to freeze-frame some scenes to "read" all the jokes, but they're worth it.
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 to our buddy Mr. Bill.
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. Well, he certainly went out with a laugh.
A Funny Spoof... no, no, really!
2008-06-11 - Even the name is ridiculous, "Jane Austin's Mafia". IF you've seen all those Italian mobster movies, like Casino, the Godfather, Goodfellas, they do a descent job of mocking them. This is one of the last good spoofs. all the new ones suck.
Satire...MORE! MORE! I'm still not satisfied!
2008-04-26 - I need not describe the hillarity of this movie so much as one ought see it for themselves! Satire was almost* never greater than in this fantastic piece!
*We can't really say 'never better' flat-out, where would we put Airplane and Anchorman?
Ridiculously Funny Movie!
2007-12-25 - We watched this movie at Thanksgiving and my 81 year old father-in-law
was laughing so hard he was crying! We had to buy this for him. We are
giving it to him today, Christmas day, and I imagine we will watch it again. It is nice to see the old fellow enjoying it because he falls asleep during most movies, but not this one!
