Customer Reviews

Godfather of Green Bay

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Caught this film at the Midwest Independent Film Festival in Milwaukee, where it was awarded Best Comedy. VERY funny. Totally captures the local color of small town Wisconsin. The quirky characters, their dialect and their antics are entertaining, endearing, vulnerable and real. I loved it!

That's really the best way I can describe it.

I've seen it twice, and I think it is very entertaining. I personally don't find it gut-busting funny, but I didn't really stop laughing much either. It took me up a little bit, and set the cruise control. In that respect, it didn't really slow down at all.

Because of that, I feel it was very well written, filmed, and directed. An excellent cast of actors that took to their roles flawlessly. I can't say enough good things about the acting/characters.

It's not some extravagant fantasy tale that takes you on a whirlwind. It's a fresh story that is mostly realistic. There are some quirky twists and suspenses that may not leave you on the edge of your seat, but the way things come together is very enjoyable.

I have found that people from Wisconsin do not understand the comedy in this movie completely. If you're from out of state, you will enjoy this movie especially if you have been to Wisconsin for visits. It is a perfect example of Wisconsin life...the accents, the things people say and do. Hilarious! My husband and I who live in Green Bay now but are both from the east coast, laughed non stop...its like they say, its funny because its true.

I'll keep it simple: this film is funny. If you're in the mood for some solid blue collar comedy, you will thoroughly enjoy this film. GODFATHER packed houses all over the Midwest during its theatrical run and was standing-room-only when we screened it at The Midwest Independent Film Festival. The feature went on to win Best Comedy at our 2005 Best of the Midwest Awards. Well-crafted comedies that keep you laughing from start to finish are hard to come by and GODFATHER is one of them. Enjoy!

Mike McNamara
Director of Programming
The Midwest Independent Film Festival

I was born and lived on the West Bank of Green Bay for 26 years.
Yes, the people and accents are funny, but where is Green Bay?
I like film, it pokes great fun at us, but it does not show you the true beauty of the area.

The Godfather of Green Bay
This a must see for any fan of Green Bay who can laugh at themselves. It is even beter for any football fan longing to laugh at Green Bay fans.

I bought "The Godfather of Green Bay" for two reasons: it was reputed to be a quirky local film about eccentric Packer fans in a small Midwest town, and because it featured Mark Borchardt from the beloved documentary "American Movie." Sadly Borchardt has a very small role here (though he at least gets to grope and make out with a Wisconsin beauty this time,) and the rest of the cast is a mixed bag.

Pete Schwaba wrote and directed the film and stars as Joe Keegan, a comic who has been on the verge of success for years. Through a series of misadventures he and his comic pals end up doing standup at "Rocktoberfest" in a small Wisconsin town because it's the only way to get seen by a talent scout from the "Tonight Show." As if that premise wasn't contrived enough, he manages to anger the mafia, and gets involved with his old high school teacher who happens to now work at a motel in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and she's dating Wisconsin's biggest drug dealer and former high school football star, Big Jake Norquist (Tony Goldwyn.) How's that for a setup? My chief issue with the film is the premise: even for a romantic action comedy it's ridiculously farfetched.

I thought Schwaba did pretty well as Keegan, but the casting is off the mark with Lauren Holly as Molly Mahoney, the ex-teacher who looks younger than her former pupil. Goldwyn did very well with the role of the gangster who constantly shows off his Macarena skills (I'm sure there was a point there, but I couldn't find it) and Lance Barber and Thomas Lennon did well as third-rate comics (Lennon's act as "Dug" is humorously painful to say the least.)

The movie obviously hinges on wildly improbable coincidences, and the romance subplot is both weird and saccharine. Pacing suffers in the first half of the movie as the intricacies of the characters and motivations are set up, but the second half is much more enjoyable. There are elements in the film I found derivative, but it's pleasant enough and worth a watch. I will look for Schwaba in the future, as with a bit more experience I think he could turn out some very good independent films and move more into the mainstream.

Though this little indie has its moments, the flaws are too deep to overlook. The ex-high school teacher, for example, looks about 10 years younger than the former 'students' who supposedly turn up in Green Bay and rediscover her. The godfather character's mullet looks too obviously glued on. And the Mafia bad guy sent to rough up the godfather looks too youthful to be a vicious hatchetman. The script is just ok, and the comedian sequences on-stage have some veritude. Watch if there's nothing else.