 |  | Mickey Rourke has The Juice in The Pope of Greenwich Village. |  |
The French consider Mickey Rourke America's greatest actor. In the 80s, they loved him for his "cool, his on-screen cruelty, his seediness, his sexual depravity" (New York Times Magazine, 11/30/08), and for his "rumpled, slightly dirty, sordid. . . rebel persona (Mickey Rourke Biography - Yahoo! Movies). Actor Johnny Depp calls The Pope of Greewich Village "perfect cinema." He's right.
After recently experiencing Rourke's newest film, The Wrestler at the Denver Film Festival, I revisited The Pope of Greewich Village. It is as good as I remembered it. It goes without saying that Rourke's name has become synonymous with his roles as Robert 'Boogie' Sheftell in Diner, Charlie Moran in The Pope of Greenwich Village, John Gray in 9 1/2 Weeks, James Wheeler in Wild Orchid, and Marv in Sin City.
Set in Little Italy, New York City, The Pope of Greenwich Village tells the story of two cousins, Charlie (Rourke), a maître d' who aspires to own his own restaurant, and Paulie (Eric Roberts), a waiter in the same restaurant. After Paulie gets caught stealing from the restaurant, both he and Charlie get fired. Paulie wants to buy into a "sure thing" racehorse by stealing $150,000 from a safe from a neighborhood business. Charlie reluctantly agrees to assist his cousin in the heist, and things go downhill from there when the discover the stolen money belongs to "Bedbug Eddie" (Burt Young), a local Mafia boss who is, as they say, not quite right in the head. Daryl Hannah plays Charlie's pregnant love interest, Diane, in the film. Many have said that Rourke and Roberts were at their best in this film. Upon its release, many considered Rourke to be the next DeNiro or Brando. How good is he in this film? Well, in his performance to save the world (his cousin, his girlfriend, and an old Irish friend) from self-destruction, he is more than the Pope, he's nearly Jesus Christ-like. It is interesting to note that there is an on-going dispute over who directed the film, Stuart Rosenberg or Michael Cimino. While Peter Biskind, Eric Roberts, and Mickey Rourke claim that it was Cimino, the film is officially credited to Rosenberg as director. Highly recommended.
G. Merritt
December 6, 2008This movie is a classic and well worth owning. I try to watch this movie at least once a year because I love it so much. If for nothing else, watch this movie to see Mickey Rourke as a young actor who had all the looks any guy could hope for. The acting of Rourke and Eric Roberts is great and they do a great job connecting in this movie. I thought that Daryl Hannah was the worst in this movie, but she doesn't really matter too much. This is a story about the two main characters, their loyalty to each other and trying to get ahead in a world you are stuck in. A lot of humor and drama highlight this film. It all looks great and the supporting cast (save Hannah) is terrific. This is a movie you can watch time and time again, as I think it gets even more interesting as the years go by. 5 stars for this, one of my all time favorites and a true classic.
April 7, 2008I've watched this over 20 times. Obviously, its one of my all time favorite movies. Warning: Not a chick flick. My wife hates the ending.
January 31, 2008| | | MICKEY ROURKE AT HIS BEST! | |
I've revisited many movies over the years and sometimes come away dissappointed that the film hasn't aged well. So, with a certain trepidation I rented one of my favorite movies from the 80's, "The Pope of Greenwich Village." But as soon as the movie started I was sucked into the world of Charlie played by Mickey Rourke in a performance that still holds up today. Rourke's got a vulnerability and toughness that isn't seen in todays actors. The movie is refreshing in the way it portrays the desperation of life and how we grasp onto anything that resembles hope. Its about gambling on love, friendship, ambition and how we mostly fall short of our dreams but if we have a sense of humor and a friend to stand by us-even a crazy one superbly played by Eric Roberts-life can be bearable. In the eighties Mickey Rourke was on a roll, Diner, Body Heat, Angel Heart, Barfly and The Pope of Greenwich Village. There maybe better movies that he's done but not one with more heart.
December 6, 2007| | | The Pope of Greenwich Village | |
this is great I always loved this movie and now I have it on DVDThe Pope of Greenwich Village
October 13, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
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