Married to the Mob – Fun City Editions/Radiance Films

Director: Jonathan Demme
Screenplay: Barry Strugatz, Mark R. Burns
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, Oliver Platt, Alec Baldwin, Paul Lazar
Country: USA
Running Time: 104 min
Year: 1988

Jonathan Demme was a director with a wide variety of films, music videos, concert movies and TV episodes to his name. He’s probably best known as the director of the multiple Oscar-winning Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, as well as the seminal concert film Stop Making Sense, but he first caught the attention of critics with the criminally under-seen Melvin and Howard. This was the first of a trio of acclaimed comedy-dramas he made during the 80s, including Something Wild (which I’ve reviewed here) and ending with Married to the Mob, before he hit the big time with Silence of the Lambs.

Despite receiving decent reviews and picking up Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, Married to the Mob has fallen off the radar a little over the years. Believing the film to be worthy of reappraisal, the new US label Fun City Editions are releasing the film on Blu-ray and the also new UK label Radiance Films are handling the disc’s release over here.

I’m excited about Radiance Films’ upcoming slate and have vague memories of enjoying Married to the Mob when I was a youngster, so volunteered to give the disc a spin. My thoughts follow.

The film sees Michelle Pfeiffer play Angela de Marco, who’s married to mob hitman ‘Cucumber’ Frank de Marco (Alec Baldwin). She’s sick of life as part of a mafia family though so, when Frank is killed by his boss Tony ‘The Tiger’ Russo (Dean Stockwell) for sleeping with his mistress, Angela sees this as a chance to get away for good.

Angela sells her house and all the extravagant stolen goods it’s decorated with and starts afresh with her son in a dilapidated apartment in New York. However, things aren’t as simple as she hoped.

Sparking all manner of problems is the fact that Tony has long carried a flame for Angela and follows her wherever she goes, now she’s available. Seeing the pair in a compromising situation at Frank’s funeral (Tony was forcing himself on Angela), the FBI believe the widow may have something to do with her husband’s death. So, Mike Downey (Matthew Modine) and Ed Benitez (Oliver Platt) are sent to investigate.

After Mike accidentally bumps into Angela during his surveillance work, the pair fall for each other, causing further complications.

Then, throwing possibly the biggest spanner in the works is Connie Russo (Mercedes Ruehl), Tony’s wife. She too catches her husband locking lips with Angela, so begins her own uncompromising quest to keep her rival out of the picture.

Married to the Mob is a whole heap of fun. I found Something Wild’s conflicting tones and slightly lazy pace a tad disappointing but, this time around, Demme has perfected the formula with a more confident tonal balance and snappier pace.

Whilst definitely a comedy, feeling inspired by the screwball classics of the 30s and 40s, the film doesn’t shy from the dramatic beats and even some crime thriller sequences to make for a more human and emotionally fulfilling end product.

This side of the film is aided by some very strong performances. It’s a wonderful cast overall, with numerous top-notch character actors and some of Demme’s musician friends filling the sidelines. It’s the main quartet of Pfeiffer, Modine, Stockwell and Ruehl that do the heavy lifting though. Whilst the latter two play things larger than life, they never push things too far into out-and-out caricature. Pfeiffer is the most grounded and perfectly sells her character’s desires and motivations. Modine perhaps pushes the quirky side of his character a little too far, though some of this is down to the writing. What is with the 80s obsession with Rube Goldberg contraptions to help you get up?

The film looks great too, with colourful production design and costumes, as well as some handsome and occasionally playful cinematography courtesy of DOP Tak Fujimoto, who shot the vast majority of Demme’s films.

It’s also nice to see a film from the era with such strong female characters. Angela takes more action in saving her skin than the often clumsy Mike and, whilst Tony is the mafia don, it’s Connie who calls the shots in their household and she’s the only person he’s truly afraid of.

I also found it interesting how the FBI are shown to be little better than the mafia in their treatment of Angela. On top of Mike deceiving her, the task force speaks very ill of the innocent woman, using some pretty derogatory language and swiftly believing her to be part of the problem without properly investigating.

So, overall, Married to the Mob is an enjoyable, well-rounded romp. Buoyed by a great cast and effectively balancing humour, heart and a few thrills, it’s easy to fall in love with the film.

Film:

Disc/package: