This is a remake of a 1958 film called "Big Deal on Madonna Street" and if you have seen that one than you can predict most of what will happen in this version. If you haven't than you might see this as a pretty funny film loaded with unique characters. Story takes place in a Cleveland suburb called Collinwood that is mainly a poor neighborhood with old buildings. A car thief named Cosimo (Luis Guzman) while in the joint hears from an old inmate about a safe in a pawnshop that holds somewhere around 300,000 dollars. Cosimo needs a "Malinski" which means he needs someone to step forward and confess to his crime so that he can get out and try to break into the safe. He tells his girlfriend Rosalind (Patricia Clarkson) who tells Toto (Michael Jeter) and he tells...well, soon many people are involved like Pero (Sam Rockwell), Leon (Isaiah Washington), Riley (William H. Macy) and Basil (Andrew Davoli). Together they want to do the "Bellini" which means a lucrative job and they hire Jerzy (George Clooney) who is an ex-thief and in a wheelchair for 500 dollars and he teaches them how to saw through the safe.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Pero has to romance Carmela (Jennifer Esposito) who lives next to the pawnshop and is holding the keys while the owners are out of town so he uses her to find out when the shop will be empty. Once the actual heist is to begin everything that could go wrong, goes wrong!
This film was directed by the Russo brothers Anthony and Joe and they do a good job of showing how run down the area of Collinwood is and the desperation of these assorted characters. Rockwell steals the show as the boxer Pero but not far behind him is Jeter as Toto. The characters in this film are all well drawn and its the characterizations that (For me) are the best thing about this effort. While this doesn't have quite the level of energy that "Ocean's 11" (Also produced by Steven Soderbergh) generates it's still a funny film loaded with rich and colorful characters. Worth a look.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Pero has to romance Carmela (Jennifer Esposito) who lives next to the pawnshop and is holding the keys while the owners are out of town so he uses her to find out when the shop will be empty. Once the actual heist is to begin everything that could go wrong, goes wrong!
This film was directed by the Russo brothers Anthony and Joe and they do a good job of showing how run down the area of Collinwood is and the desperation of these assorted characters. Rockwell steals the show as the boxer Pero but not far behind him is Jeter as Toto. The characters in this film are all well drawn and its the characterizations that (For me) are the best thing about this effort. While this doesn't have quite the level of energy that "Ocean's 11" (Also produced by Steven Soderbergh) generates it's still a funny film loaded with rich and colorful characters. Worth a look.