Product Details

• Actors: Jay Mohr, Billy Burke, Christina Applegate, Pamela Gidley, Olympia Dukakis
• Directors: Jim Abrahams
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• VHS Release Date: August 3, 2000
• Run Time: 87 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305209979
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,048 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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

From The New Yorker

Jim Abrahams ("Hot Shots!," "Airplane!") takes on the "Godfather" dynasty in his latest exclamation-pointed satire, but this one is a pretty wheezy exercise. It's not just that the jokes are old and obvious (in the earlier films, that was part of the fun), it's that the form itself has been worn out-TV comedies nowadays seem to spoof Hollywood films every week. Lloyd Bridges stars, in his last performance, and he's warm and funny as the aging don. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seems to get Funnier with each Viewing, February 26, 2002

By	gobirds2 (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Mafia! (DVD)

I'll admit that I did not like this film the first time I saw it in the theatre. It started out at a snail's pace and seemed equally strained for laughter. However, there was a smattering of truly insightful comic genius throughout that made it mildly enjoyable. Then I watched it on video with a group of people. For some unknown reason I found myself laughing uncontrollably. As I watched the film again I then began to notice how much it followed the GODFATHER saga in parody. Once I began to realize what the filmmakers were doing it all started to take shape and made good comic sense. Not only did it follow the same inspirational format of AIRPLANE but it took the same approach with its audience: if this joke doesn't work for you we have plenty more lined up one after another and eventually you are going to start laughing. What's interesting is that you actually have to listen carefully to what is being said to really get the full effect of this well thought out comedy because it is much more than just a parody.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I liked it, January 26, 2000

By	Mike (United States) - See all my reviews

I thought this movie was hilarious. Some people said that they hated this movie and that it was not funny at all. To this, I say that it depends on the person. To fully enjoy this movie, you have to have seen the movies it is parodying, like Casino and Godfather series. If you have seen those movies, watch and enjoy. If not, you still might like it. Give it a shot!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have a sense of humor..., June 23, 2000

By	"manhat" (Santa Clara, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This movie is one of the most funny movies I have ever seen. I really depends on what kind of sense of humor you have. It is especially funny for a kid, but has some stuff an adult would know about to get some jokes.

It is a spoof on mob movies, and some others, like Forrest Gump. It doesn't really need lots of explaining, just watch it for laughs!

You would probably like this movie if you liked stuff like Naked Gun, or Hot Shots.