Oscar (1991) Review:

Parodies among various genres can be tough to pull off correctly. It must lightly make fun of the subject it is presenting without stepping on anyone's toes. It can be challenging, because swinging either way to an extreme will make the story not funny at all. It'll either insult the audience watching it, or it'll be just flat out boring. For Sylvester Stallone, comedy was never a strong point of his. In the few that he did partake in, nobody found it funny nor did he get positive recognition from it. However, there is one film that proves he could do it and this is the feature. Whether it's because he was involved with the right crew or if he found the right material to work with, both of these possible solutions are what helped in the viewing experience.

Stallone as "Snaps" Provolone

Stallone plays Angelo "Snaps" Provolone, an Italian mobster who is forced into a change in lifestyle when his dying father Eduardo (Kirk Douglas), asks him to go into a different profession. Soon after, "Snaps" moves into the banking business, but needs to convince a set of bankers first that he qualifies. The day of this meeting, he learns his accountant Anthony (Vincent Spano) wants to ask his daughter for her hand in marriage. Turning things even more upside down is learning that his daughter Lisa (Marisa Tomei) is pregnant but from a fired employee of "Snaps" called Oscar. All the while, the cops led by Lt. Toomey (Kurtwood Smith) is trying to pin "Snaps" for something illegal.

The script was written by Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland, who would later write for Bad Boys (1995) and then the Late Show with David Letterman. Directing the feature was John Landis, famously known for his widely popular The Blues Brothers (1980). The writing to this feature only has one critical flaw and that is, it may move just a little too fast for some viewers. Mainly because the plot written above contains only some of the complexities to this story. However, this is also what makes it so intriguing to watch because of how many subplots cross, and yet they manage to all stay on track and resolve themselves over the course of the running time. That is impressive since many stories suffer from this kind of pitfall.

The comedic elements to this feature are a bundle of laughs. Stallone gives a great performance thanks to his googly eyed reactions, quick retorts and 4th wall breaking looks he gives to the camera. His henchmen led by (Aldo) Peter Riegert and Connie (Chazz Palminteri) go with the flow. These three are the ones who more or less fall into the parody genre since they have tropes that make fun of Italian mobsters. Marisa Tomei as Lisa is fantastic, being that she would later become Aunt May, it was a rather wonderful surprise. Even Tim Curry shows up for some fun as Dr. Poole, a teacher in linguistics to help "Snaps" get better at talking like a normal person.

"I Marisa Tomei,...will become Aunt May in the future!"

That and the rest of the supporting cast work well off each other. There's also appearances from Yvonne De Carlo, Don Ameche, Eddie Bracken, Art LaFleur, Martin Ferrero and Harry Shearer. For cinematography, the camera was handled by Mac Ahlberg. Having worked on other films like Hell Night (1981), Re-Animator (1985), House (1985), DeepStar Six (1989) and Robot Jox (1989), Ahlberg's work uses all of the settings to his advantage for clear and picturesque views. Lastly Elmer Bernstein composed the score for this film. Unfortunately the score isn't as much as some would hope, but it does fit the film very well. The film also utilizes older music too from other artists like Bing Crosby.

For parodies on the Italian mobster, this film is as good as it gets. The script has some sharp dialog and a very interesting plot. The actors all do a swell job, the camerawork is competent and the music is all easy on the ears. Just be sure to keep up with the pacing.

Points Earned --> 8:10