User Reviews

Alyssa Milano was great in this movie and I am not just saying that because I am a fan of hers. The plot was interesting and nothing like Wisegirls. It is about a women with two kids who just lost her husband. She has no money so she starts to sell stolen cigarettes from this person that works for the mob. Then she starts to get more involved with the mob by fixing a restaurant and changing it into a night club. She is then asked to transfer money from Canada and agrees to. Years have passed and things get more complicated. She likes a man who is married and who kills his son. She finds out that the boss told him to and she wants out. She leaves with her children to Florida with the approval of the boss. And then most of the mob is either killed or arrested with the help of an FBI agent and an undercover man. I think this was a great movie even though it is a Lifetime production. Everyone should definitely see it.

I will remember this movie as one of the most powerful movie portrayals of a strong mother. What sets this apart from all other movies about mothers is, this mother does not break down emotionally, but instead she continues to figure out a way through to support her family and that gives it the upper-hand of being inspirational! And i do believe that this is based on a true story because i believe there are people like her around and i am so glad to come across this testimony of life.

Alyssa Milano really did a splendid job in her role, which i knew she could pull it off with such a standard considering her potential. The rest of the cast did really well and the script is strong, not too heavy (which it is not suppose to be heavy, after all this is a lifetime movie) but still weighs heavily on the heart. In fact this movie is good enough to be of a blockbuster standard. If u want a heart felt movie that does not rely on too much crying and carries substantial courage and maternal strength, this is a must-watch.

Nearly abandoned as a baby on the church steps in old Brooklyn, Patty Montanari experiences a meteoric rise to success based on her personal tenacity and self-confidence. As a destitute young woman, she was befriended by a decent cop named Dante, who she married. But soon, the good man keeled over and died. A widow with two young boys, Patty now begins to move with the mob in this fascinating saga of an indomitable woman.

Alyssa Milano is terrific as Patty, who climbs the ladder after ingeniously turning a greasy spoon restaurant into a thriving night club. But unwittingly, Patty is spiraling into a lifestyle best described in the name she has bequeathed to the club: Pandora's box. She links up with a mid-level crime boss named Frankie Russo, who takes his marching orders from the boss of bosses (capo dei capi), Salvatori "Sal" Palmieri, played with great gusto by James Caan.

The film is much more than a crime caper depicting life in the mob. Patty improves her lot, moving from a modest Flatbush apartment to a classy townhouse in Prospect Park. But the film's relentless focus is a character profile of a woman who retains a moral compass within a sea of corruption.

By the time Patty has become the premier runner for Sal, she has has become deeply embedded in "la famiglia." And yet, she still retains the ability for clear thinking and the willingness to say, "no." Her devotion to her children is unwavering, and she is much more than the "wisegal" of the film's title. Patty Molinari is her own person with the ability to look anyone straight in the eyes and tell them exactly how it is.