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Blood Money

1999, Movie, R, 95 mins

Blood Money: Review

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Bada-bing dialogue and mob stereotypes abound in this gangster retread, first aired on Showtime. Just when he thought he was out, stockbroker Tony Restrelli (Brian Bloom) gets pulled into the family business — mob business. Accompanied by his yuppie main-squeeze, Tony attends the wake of his brother, Primo (Rocco Vienhage), whom everyone assumes was killed by a rival gang. At the bedside of his gravely ill father, Dominic (Leonard Stone), Tony agrees to oversee the liquidation of the Restrelli holdings in order to prevent further bloodshed. In the course of locating a buyer, Tony discovers that the practically bankrupt Restrellis are in hock to the Mexican mob, and that his clan was never an underworld force to be reckoned with. Guided by Papa's advisor, Willy the Hammer (Alan Arkin), Tony negotiates with Thai cutthroats and bad-ass bikers, but of all the West Coast gangs eager to gobble up the Restelli properties, the Mexican and Russian mafias lead the pack. Either faction could have ordered the hit on Primo. While Tony secretly investigates Primo's execution, he keeps up a cool facade. Unfortunately, his hotheaded cousin Joey (Joe Gian) causes a commotion at a Russian-owned bar and nearly wrecks Tony's careful maneuvering. Meanwhile, Willy the Hammer spots an old East Coast associate, who's escaped both mob retribution and incarceration by undergoing a sex change; Willy is nearly stabbed by the fugitive for his trouble. Despite pressure from Restrelli's rivals, Tony decides to take the family assets — especially their waterfront property — and funnel them into legitimate enterprises. And although he has a scary confrontation with the Mexican Godfather, Guttierez (Raymond Cruz), it becomes clear to Tony that the Mexicans didn't kill Primo — his brother's killer may be closer to home. This movie's only raison d'etre is its basic joke: The Sopranos-like Restellis are actually impotent, coasting along on generations of Mafia stereotypes. The over-ripe narration and relentless Guido caricatures that characterize Tony's silly slip-and-slide through the underworld are no reason to sit through this cliched picture. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
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