For all you mob film fans, here's a mob story to die laughing for.
I recently viewed Philip Faicco's directorial debut of
"Meatballs, Tomatoes and Mobsters" at a private screening on Long Island and madone what a bang-up job. We'll
be seeing more of his pisano, I'm sure. With character
names like Butchie Bones, Moe Sweets, Choppy, Psycho
Stew and Pizza Pie Pino, set against madcap situations,
how can one misfire? Well, the shots kept on firing and
the payoff delivers like a big knuckle sandwich.
Here's a brief rundown of Faicco's well made dark mob
comedy:
Don Forchenzo the head of a New York Crime family
secretly assembles his top earners to lay down a
ridiculous plan to reshape and reorganize his crime
family, only to discover his wacky ideas don't meet the
family's approval.
This dysfunctional, disorderly and disorganized crime
family betrays, deceives, plots and murders its way
for survival as the head of the powerful nevertheless
decaying crime family's don clearly loses his mind.
Pizza Pie Pino, the ambitious, reckless and vicious
capo (crime captain) desperately desires to seize
control over the family. Even though the other capos
are not pleased with their mentally questionable Don,
they are far less pleased with Pino's aspirations,
direction and ruthless ways.
At the mob meeting a shocking twist arises that
forever changes the course of the family's dynamic,
endurance and future existence.
The underboss, Uncle Rizzo, consequently becomes
one of the targets for eradicating the family of old
blood, while every made member's mortal longevity
also hangs thinly in the balance.
With the family in disarray the mobsters amuse them-
selves with a weekend retreat of poker and partying.
The events which occur during the weekend develop
to be outrageous, off-the-wall, startling, chaotic and
vengeful, coupled with mayhem that radically alters
the complexity of the zany crime interminably once
again.
Phillip Faicco aka "Chick" to family and friends is
a Long Island native who has always had a passion
in the entertainment field, accepting acting parts in
several films ranging from independents to Holly-
wood studio films. Faicco has been writing movie
screenplays for over 20 years. In 2004, Faicco
who wrote and also produced the savage thriller
"Season of the Hunted" where hunters hunt man,
was released domestically on DVD by Lions Gate
and is now in Blockbuster and stores nationwide.
Faicco has perpetually had an interest in Mob Films.
Faaicco says: "Done right, mobsters on screen are
some of the most alluring, amusing enduring charac-
ters cinematically. American audiences clamor for
these characters, their idealisms, witty dialog, risky
and vengeful ways".
"To that end I believe we crafted an original, enter-
taining, fun-filled mob picture that audiences will
clamor for. Kind of think of "Meatballs, Tomatoes
and Mobsters" in the vain of "Sopranos and
Seinfeld" meets Weekend at Bernie's.
"Both myself and executive producer, Vincent Labate
originally planned on producing a mob film simply
to have relatives and friends get together to make a
quality and funny picture that can be shared amongst
us and others. So I began creating the story. As the
writer I got heavily into the storyline, characters, etc.
shortly realizing the screenplay I believed had
developed into an exceptional TV pilot for a national
network series having broad commercial appeal".
"Subsequently, Vinny and I agreed to take the risk
and greatly increase the budget, and produce "Meat-
balls, Tomatoes and Mobsters" into a Screen Actors
Guild (SAG) picture of predominately seasoned
actors. I contacted actors that I created. Every actor
I contacted agreed to work the picture. In fact, we
even took a shot and cast a few rolls on newcomers,
who were a prize". "The principal actors Joe Rigano
from "Casino" and "Analyze This", Frank Albanese
from "Godfather" and "Sopranos", Tony Ray Rossi
from "Sopranos" and "Find Me Guilty" were all
gems".
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