Frank Vincent Movies
New Jersey-born character actor Frank Vincent is best known for playing threatening thugs and gangsters, but he actually started out working with Joe Pesci as a comedy duo during the early '70s. Before that, Pesci and Vincent had worked together in a honky tonk band, the Aristocrats, in which Pesci sang lead and Vincent played the drums. The duo broke up in 1975, but not before landing supporting roles as gangsters in the low-budget crime drama Death Collector. Afterward, Vincent disappeared from the entertainment industry until 1978, when he again encountered Pesci, who helped him land the part of Salvi, the gangster whom Pesci badly beats in Martin Scorsese's epic biography Raging Bull (1980). The former duo subsequently teamed in Dear Mr. Wonderful (1982), Scorsese's GoodFellas (1990), where Pesci gave Vincent a fatal beating, and in Casino, where the worm turned and Vincent got to kill Pesci. Vincent found fairly steady employment playing small supporting roles in films of widely varying quality through the early '90s. After appearing in Alan Rudolph's Mortal Thoughts and Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991), Vincent began getting larger screen roles. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
T.R. Knight, Danny Aiello, Vincent Pastore, and Gilbert Gottfried star in writer/director John DeBellis' bittersweet romantic comedy about a dying father who implores one of his sons to have a baby boy and carry on the family name. Pop (Aiello) is dying, but before he punches out he wants to make sure that his legacy will live on. In order to insure that this happens, he begs his sons Tom ($Knight) and Jeff (also Knight) to marry a woman and father a son. While Tom is more than up to the task, tragedy strikes when he dies trying. Now it's all up to Jeff, but how does a seminary student who's planning on becoming a priest maintain his vow of celibacy and fulfill his father's dying wish at the same time? When Pop confronts Jeff with a question that shakes the loyal son to the very core, he abandons the seminary in order to follow through on his dear old dad's final request. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Aiello, T.R. Knight, (more)
- 2006
Filmmaking duo Frank and Joe Ciota follow up 1997's The North End and 2001's Ciao America with this black comedy about an Italian-American funeral home struggling to remain afloat as an influx of young, healthy bodies into the neighborhood finds business slowing. Ragucci's the nation's oldest Italian-American funeral home, and owner Felix Ragucci (Joe Sicari) is determined to stay in business. At the heart of Frank's business is Frank Tramontana (Danny Aiello), a former public relations executive who now drives a hearse for a living. Frank is a handsome man who prides himself on both his spotless reputation and his remarkable ability to seduce young women like statuesque beauty Lauren (Heather Tom). Ragussi's holds a special place in Frank's heart, not only because so many people he knows received their final farewells there but also because it serves as a community center for the close-knit family that works there. When Frank learns that Ragucci's may finally be closing their doors, he recruits fellow employees John "The Prince" Monaco (Jon Polito) and Nino Degeneroso (Louis Vanaria) in concocting a scheme to keep the funeral home afloat. But Frank is about to find out that it isn't easy to save the day while attempting to keep up with a much younger girlfriend and negotiate your son's tuition with your demanding ex-wife, and when the gang's shady scheme draws the attention of local gossip writer Sid Buford (Frank Bongiorno), all three will be begging to bury the past. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Aiello, Jon Polito, (more)
Christian Maelen served as both star and director in this offbeat independent crime drama. Will Bentley (Maelen) leads a charmed life -- he has inherited a fortune from his parents, he has a beautiful girlfriend, Michelle (Candice Coke), and his career as an artist is starting to take off. But Will also has a serious drug problem that causes all of his luck to run out one evening; after getting high at a party, Will was with a close friend when he was shot on the street. Now that Will's head has cleared, he remembers almost nothing about the evening, but it turns out his pal owed plenty of money to some powerful people, and between the police and the mob, Will finds himself dragged into a labyrinth of danger. Remedy co-stars Frank Vincent, Vincent Pastore, Rick Aiello, and former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, who also contributes to the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Bear witness to the systematic shakedown of New York City's lucrative construction business by non-union, minority laborers and see just how both sides of the law scramble to stay one step ahead of the game in director Joseph Ariola's tense look at the controversial SBM (Survival of the Black Man) coalition. Based on actual police accounts of officers who attempted to infiltrate corrupt coalition workers and co-written by retired New York City Police Detective Robert Cea, this gripping crime drama offers an unprecedented look at the mob heavies who carry-out backroom deals, the unions who struggle against impending layoffs, and the one desperate soul who is caught directly in the middle of all the dirty dealings. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raekwon, Michael Wright, (more)
Wiseguys on Texas Hold 'Em features actors playing the popular brand of poker with helpful hints provided along the way by champion poker player Robert Varkonyi. In addition to Willie Garson and Fisher Stevens, and players include three cast members of The Sopranos - Frank Vincent, Vinny Vella, and Vincent Pastore. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Oceanic wise guys meet up with a small fish who has a big attitude in this computer-animated comedy. Don Lino (voice of Robert De Niro) is the patriarch of a family of sharks who lord over a bustling aquatic community based along a massive underwater reef. Don Lino has two sons, Frankie (voice of Michael Imperioli) and Lenny (voice of Jack Black); Frankie is a carnivorous tough guy who takes after his father, but Lenny is, at heart, a kind soul who has earned the ire of his dad by becoming a vegetarian. One of Don Lino's cronies is Sykes (voice of Martin Scorsese), who runs a "whale wash" where Oscar (voice of Will Smith) scrubs aquatic mammals for a living. Oscar is a small but ambitious fish who dreams of making something of himself, and when a dropped anchor accidentally kills Frankie, Oscar is suddenly (if mistakenly) celebrated as "the shark killer." Oscar's overnight fame attracts the attentions of Lola (voice of Angelina Jolie), a slinky dragon fish who woos Oscar away from his steady date, Angie (voice of Renée Zellweger); however, Oscar strikes up a friendship with Lenny and has to decide what to do when Don Lino and Sykes decides it's time to "take care" of the "different" shark. Also popping up in Shark Tale's all-star voice cast are Peter Falk, Vincent Pastore, Ziggy Marley, and Katie Couric. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Robert De Niro, (more)
Two warring families are brought together by love and pizza in this romantic comedy. Vito Rossi (Vincent Pastore) and Frank Bianco (Frank Vincent) are two men who used to work together in the same pizza parlor in Yonkers, NY, but when their mentor Emilio (Louis Guss) retired, he decided to give his secret formula for perfect crust to Vito, and his recipe for the best sauce in town to Frank. Now the two men are bitter rivals, each running their own pizza place and constantly battling over who has the best pie in town. However, Vito's daughter Angela (Robin Paul) recently graduated from business school, and has big plans for shifting the family business into overdrive. Frank, meanwhile, has an idea of his own for getting ahead -- he'll persuade his handsome twenty-something son Tony (Conor Dubin), a budding cartoonist, to romance Angela, and hopefully persuade her to reveal her family's share of the famous pizza recipe. However, something unexpected happens -- Angela and Tony fall in love, despite the bad blood between their families, and have to figure out a way to break the unexpected news to their families. A Tale of Two Pizzas was the first feature film from writer and director Vincent Sassone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Pastore, Frank Vincent, (more)
Grandnephew of the famous mobster known as Tony Pro, Danny Provenzano is the co-writer, director, and star of the independent crime drama This Thing of Ours (the title is a literal translation of the crime organization La Cosa Nostra). Provenzano plays young mobster Nick Santini, who wishes to impress his Uncle Danny (Frank Vincent) and the other elders of a New Jersey mob. Nick plans a major bank heist with his old pal Robert Biaggio (Christian Maelen) and computer geek Austin Palermo (Louis Vanaria). Using a complicated Internet scam to distort a communications satellite, they plan to steal more than 50 million dollars. Nick is eventually stuck with having to choose between his friends and the mob when high-ranking Patsy DeGrazio (Michael DelGaizo) kidnaps Austin. This Thing of Ours also stars Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos), James Caan (The Godfather), and Pat Cooper (Analyze This). Incidentally, Provenzano was arresting in 1999 under a 44-count felony indictment that included charges of racketeering, kidnapping, and money laundering. He eventually pleaded guilty to racketeering and was scheduled to begin a ten-year prison sentence in August 2003, just weeks after his film is released. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Vincent, Vincent Pastore, (more)
Music video director Richard Murray makes his feature debut with this hip-hop crime thriller about an ambitious kid caught in the shady underworld of the recording industry. Sam Jones III (Erik Triggs) is a wannabe rap artist working menial jobs at Ill Wax Records by day and sneaking into the studio and laying down some tracks by night. His activities have already attracted the welcome attention of Cheryl (Zo Saldana), a bodacious marketing executive. Meanwhile, the company's villainous president Bobby Starr (Dean Winters) is bullying rap phoneme Prolifik (Nelly) into doing his debut record Bobby's way. On the same night that Sam and his buddy Malik sneak into the studios, Prolifik and his master tapes are abducted and soon the prime suspect appears to be none other than Sam. With the wrathful Starr on his tail and the cops closing in, Sam is forced to find the crook responsible the crime and fast. This film played at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Jones III, Zoe Saldana, (more)
- 2001
Smokin' Stogies stars Joseph Marino as Vinnie Marscone, a mobster who, on orders from his boss (Tony Sirico), is sent from New York to Miami to locate a missing million dollar shipment of Cuban cigars. Vinnie believes that the local mobsters in Florida are supposed to help him, but he begins to suspect otherwise as he finds himself on a wild goose chase that may end with him dead before he finds the contraband. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
In this action-laced comedy, a cop on the verge of a nervous breakdown finds love at the least convenient time. Charlie Mayo (Liam Neeson) is an undercover agent with the DEA who was nearly killed when a sting set up to nail a gang of drug dealers went horribly wrong. The accident left Charlie shaken, and he's gone into therapy to hold himself together as he struggles through one final case before retiring. Charlie's superior (Mitch Pileggi) has set him up on another undercover assignment as he tries to bring in two Colombian drug kingpins and a low-level Mafiosi with delusions of grandeur (Oliver Platt). As Charlie makes his way through therapy, he's referred to a nurse (Sandra Bullock) interested in New Age healing techniques; now he has love on his mind as he tries to keep himself out of harm's way under increasingly dangerous circumstances. Gun Shy marked the feature directorial debut of television veteran Eric Blakeney. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Oliver Platt, (more)
- 2000
A barrel containing the dismembered body of a woman is found in a house formerly owned by mobster Pete Mangrini (Al Sapienza). In their efforts to prove that the body is that of Mangrini's long-missing wife, thereby pinning a murder rap on the mob boss, Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) and Jones (Henry Simmons) are aided and abetted by plucky reporter Nicole Graf (Elizabeth Berkley). Meanwhile, Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Sorenson (Rick Schroder), pursuing another lead in the Mangini case, come up with a satisfying example of the postman ringing twice. And off the job, Sipowicz tries to help police medical examiner Dr. Kroft (M. Emmet Walsh) cope with his wife's terminal cancer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Fancy (James McDaniel) and Jones (Henry Simmons) try to help Jones' former boss Lt. Abner (James Pickens Jr.), who is in a deep depression -- but their efforts are too little, too late. When the partner of nightclub owner Dave Lorenz (Peter Jurasik) is murdered, Lorenz points a finger at a jailed mobster who may have ordered the hit, but Mrs. Lorenz (Sherry Hursey) has an entirely different theory. And while investigating a rape charge, Jill (Andrea Thompson) and Diane (Kim Delaney) turn up a suspect who refuses to speak to anyone but a male detective -- leading to an unexpected revelation of subliminal racism. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Soap icon Michael Rodrick stars in this gritty urban drama about love, jealousy, and crime set in Queens, New York. After returning to the old neighborhood from a two year stint in jail, Ryan (Rodrick) discovers that his girlfriend has started dating mobster Vincent (Jonathan LaPaglia). Soon a vicious rivalry develops with ugly results. Under Hellgate Bridge was screened at the 1999 Montreal Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Rodrick, Jonathan LaPaglia, (more)
- 1999
A newspaper columnist is murdered, thereby reopening a 20-year-old homicide case. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) track down the central character in the original case, who was a juvenile at the time. This leads to a tricky dilemma for the D.A.'s office -- a dilemma eagerly pounced upon by the defense attorney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- R
A filmmaker tries to sort out the scattered emotional baggage of his love life in Entropy. Jake Walsh (Stephen Dorff) is a film director who attends a fashion show with some friends and meets a French model named Stella (Judith Godreche). The attraction between the two is immediate, and after a brief courtship they're living together. However, between his career in film and her career as a model, they don't spend as much time together as they'd like, and they begin to drift apart; when Stella one day announces she's pregnant, Jake displays no particular enthusiasm for the idea of raising a child, and Stella ends up having an abortion. Eventually, the two break up and Jake finds himself married to a woman he barely knows, not quite sure what happened. As he muddles through his romantic problems, Jake also has to deal with the often puzzling hierarchy and the bizarre office politics of Hollywood. A rare independent effort from Phil Joanou, who previously directed State of Grace, Final Analysis and a wealth of popular music videos, Entropy was the opening night attraction at the 1999 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Dorff, Judith Godrëche, (more)
Peter Falk, Lauren Holly, Timothy Hutton, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Tyne Daly star in this gritty crime drama. Falk plays the owner of a local bar who has taken bets for a Mafia gambling ring for years, watching out for his customers and never letting them get in too far over their heads. But that all changes when a mobster appoints his hot-headed, drug-abusing nephew (Prinze) to be his new collection agent. The young gangster takes a huge bet from an out-of-work alcoholic (Hutton) who has been forbidden from gambling in the past, and when he can't pay it off, he demands the man's wife (Holly) give him her body as payment. The barkeep knows his new partner has gone too far -- but what can he do to stop him without endangering the lives of his family? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
A man needing some easy money finds danger instead in this sexy thriller. Mike Aguayo (Lorenzo Lamas) is a former police detective who has moved to Puerto Rico, where he runs a night club. But business is bad, and Mike is hounded by creditors; in desperate need of some quick money, he accepts an unusual offer from a gangster who wants Mike to seduce his wife. The mobster's logic is that if he can prove Mike and his wife have had sex, he can divorce her as an adulteress. However, when Mike meets the woman in question, he discovers that she has a plan of her own for her husband, and Mike finds himself in deep and dangerous waters. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorenzo Lamas, Brenda Strong, (more)
The key figure in this two-part TV mob miniseries is Mafia snitch Sammy "The Bull" Gravano (Nicholas Turturro). Gravano ratted on John Gotti (Tom Sizemore), who manipulated the 1985 murder of mob boss Paul Castellano (Abe Vigoda). Gravano is seen rising in the mob ranks through various blood-brother ceremonies, coercions, threats, family meetings, and confrontations over loyalties. In part two, informant Gravano blows the whistle on Gotti. Turturro, as Gravano, also narrates the drama, which manages to alter accuracy and bend history behind this disclaimer: "Certain events in this film that are based on fact are interpretive, certain characters are composites or have been fictionalized, and some names and locations have been changed." Premiered May 10, 1998 on NBC. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicholas Turturro, Tom Sizemore, (more)
- 1997
Two friends unwittingly reflect the divided nature of a changing community in this independent drama. Mac McCain (Mark Hartmann) and Freddie Fabucci (Matthew Del Negro) are two old buddies who share an apartment in Boston's Italian-American North End community, which is divided between yuppies trying to gentrify the neighborhood and tough townies who resent their intrusion. Mac is a soft-spoken independent filmmaker who wants to make a documentary about the neighborhood and its people. He's told that he'll need the permission of Dom Di Bella (Frank Vincent), a local hard man who has made a few bucks playing gangster roles in movies. Freddie, on the other hand, is involved with Dani (Lina Sivio), whom he treats with a dismissive and brutal machismo. Dani often finds herself wondering why she's going with Freddie and not his better-behaved friend, Mac. The North End marked the directorial debut of filmmaker Frank Ciota, himself a long-time North End resident. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Vincent, Tony Darrow, (more)
Don Close made his feature directorial debut with this drama about a trio of working-class Italian-Americans in Queens. The tale begins with childhood misadventures and then leaps ahead to show their adult lives two decades later -- with one unemployed (Andy Fiscella), another (Close) driving an ice cream truck, and the third (James Biberi) involved in criminal activities with a local don (Frank Vincent) that lead to violence. Shown at the 1997 Mill Valley Film Festival. This film is not to be confused with the other Made Men, a 1999 studio actioner starring James Belushi and Michael Beach and produced by the team of Joel Silver and Richard Donner. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Close, James Biberi, (more)
The second film from writer/director James Mangold, the corruption drama Cop Land stars Sylvester Stallone as Freddy Heflin, the much-denigrated sheriff of tiny Garrison, NJ, a community which -- thanks to a technicality -- is populated almost entirely by members of the New York City Police Department. When young cop Murray "Superboy" Babitch (Michael Rapaport) becomes embroiled in a controversial shoot-out which leaves two black youths dead, he apparently commits suicide rather than face the wrath of an official investigation. In reality, however, he flees to safety back home in Garrison. In the wake of the controversial events, NYPD Internal Affairs lieutenant Moe Tilden (Robert De Niro) arrives in Garrison to uncover the truth, attempting to enlist Freddy to help watch the watchmen, including Superboy's uncle, veteran cop Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel); coked-out Gary Figgis (Ray Liotta); and Joey Randone (Peter Berg), the husband of the woman (Annabella Sciorra) Freddy loved and lost. A rich, complex film about redemption, Cop Land's portrayal of Freddy's struggles to prove his worth mirrors Stallone's own return to thoughtful, character-driven drama after years of vacuous action roles. Like Freddy, he faces an uphill battle, fighting for respectability in the face of a superb cast including Janeane Garofalo, Cathy Moriarty, and Paul Calderon. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, (more)
