Married To The Mob

Things just don't seem to be going right in Angela De Marco's (Pfeiffer) world.

Her life isn't all bad, after all, she has everything laundered money can buy, thanks to her unhappy marriage to Mafia member Frankie De Marco (Baldwin). But nobody said being a mob wife was going to be easy.

Things get complicated after Frankie is murdered and Angela decides to break free from the "family" for good and start a new life in Manhattan. Things get more complicated when not only does Frankie's boss Tony Russo (Stockwell) tries to make a move on Angela but the FBI suspects that she is Tony's new mistress. Things get even more complicated when FBI agent Mike Downey (Modine), posing as Angela's neighbor, begins surveillance on Angela while at the same time falling in love with her.

There is also a perverted fast food manager, some loopy relatives, a homicidal burger clown and one helluva jealous wife.

As Leonard Maltin once said "Only Jonathan Demme could create a mob movie with likable characters in it." And it is the characters that truly carry this crazy little black comedy to delirious effect.

This is definitely one of Michelle Pfeiffer's true landmark roles, after starring in hit films like Into The Night(1985), The Witches Of Eastwick (1987) and Dangerous Liasons (1988), she really blossoms in this film and enjoys the lively character. Dean Stockwell however manages to steal the show with his Oscar nominated performance as Tony. Of course, I can't forget the outrageous Mercedes Ruehl who plays Connie, Tony's jealous wife. This woman is crazy enough to scare any man into being faithful to their wife.

Despite a rather slim plot, the movie is nevertheless an absolute delight through the stylish, off-the-wall vitality. Although it's never really sure what kind of a movie it wants to be it manages to avoid coming off as uneven or shallow, thanks the fun cast and good-humoured energy.