MOBSTERS & MORMONS

REVIEWED BY SHANNON H.

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: violence, thematic elements

Rated:

The stereotype of the Italian-American mobster has always been a subject of interest in movies and entertainment. Films like The Godfather trilogy, GoodFellas, and TV shows like The Sopranos expose audiences to the lives of gangsters as they lie, cheat, steal, do "mob hits," and speak in English with an Italian or Eastern U.S. accent.  This particular film, with the same concept and plot as a few mainstream Hollywood movies combines two sub-cultures in order to bring comedic results.

Carmine "The Beans" Pasquale is a notorious mob gangster (who is nicknamed "beans" for his ability to grind his own coffee beans) who speaks in the stereotypical East Coast accent. He shows up at a wedding to hopefully get a promotion by his boss within the "organization" he works for. Unfortunately, he's passed over and to retaliate, Carmine kidnaps the groom and stuffs him into a sports car. He also holds up a convenience store but is quickly arrested by the authorities and taken in for questioning. FBI agents give Carmine a choice: 20 to 25 years in prison or live undercover in a witness protection program. The savvy mobster chooses the latter and suddenly he, his wife Gina, and son Vincent are flown from the East Coast to live in a small Mormon community in Salt Lake City, Utah going by George, Linda, and Patrick "Rick" Cheeseman.

Gina, Carmine's wife, is looking forward to living in a nice neighborhood away from crime. Immediately after they move in, she starts making friends with the neighbors. Carmine is finding a hard time trying to adjust. He argues with his wife, makes a bad first-impression with the neighbors by making inappropriate comments about race, ethnicity, people's weight, and how Mormons "don't do anything fun." He realizes that no one there drinks coffee or caffeinated Pepsi or even alcohol and everyone has a strange fascination with scrapbooking. His son Vincent is making friends with the sister of their neighbor, Mike Jaymes, the local Mormon elder. Mike also helps Carmine find a job at a local lumberyard. While Gina and Vincent have adjusted quite nicely to their new neighborhood, Carmine is still stubborn. He has a fit when Gina takes them to the Mormon church just to see what it's like.  However, after finding out that his father was murdered by the mob, Carmine starts to realize how ignorant he has been to everyone else.  Meanwhile, the mob is also planning another murder: one of their own.

The film is rated PG for thematic material, some language, and violence. The latter is very mild; only a couple of punches to the face and a exploded mini-van in a church parking lot. There is one mild sexual reference to Carmine suggesting that he and his wife cuddle in the backyard at night in sleeping bags. The word "crap" is used occasionally but it's harmless fun. Carmine tells some kids a rather grotesque version of "The Three Little Pigs" involving smashed brains and a grisly murder. Vincent cons one of the neighbors to "loan" him some tools and a ladder, which he uses to "borrow" the satellite dish from a neighbor's home. After an argument, Vincent says that his mom Gina drank a bottle of white zinafel and passed out, which was played for laughs.

Despite the fact that the Mormon church is featured a lot in this movie, it isn't preached. The Mormons respect the fact that the Pasquales are Catholic and attend Mass even though they are the only ones sitting in the pews. The film shows that good friendship can help change people. Mike Jaymes' helped Carmine to change his ways by being his friend and not judging him based on his "social grace." In turn, Carmine puts in a good word for him, which helped Mike get promoted to a bishop in the church. Before his transformation, Carmine decided to have some fun and con local scrapbook stores out of money by disguising as a charity worker and a scrapbooking union boss. After he changes, he gives back the money he exhorted, something one would never see in The Godfather. 

I enjoyed this film to a certain extent. Some of the acting could've been done a lot better. Carmine's one-liners get tired and repetitive after awhile. What I liked is that there is no profanity whatsoever. In the outtakes, there are several bleeped-out words but that's about it. I really don't enjoy watching movies about organized crime because of my personal, moral beliefs, however, this is a cute and sometimes funny film that anyone over 13 can enjoy.  It's packed with pop culture references, and good clean fun. I thought it would be a bust but it's actually quite funny.