“I don’t know, but they’re definitely up to no good.”
A policeman speaks the above line towards the back half of Danny Abeckaser’s Mob Town. Coincidentally, the line describes the movie as a whole, and the filmmakers’ struggle to create a piece of great filmmaking. An idea much more than a film, Mob Town lives in a space of mediocrity, never too horrible or uninteresting to turn off and never good enough for you to be happy to be watching.
Everything, from the performances to the costumes to the set design to the script, just exist. Nothing feels necessary or important, and even with a strong premise, the film has no business trying to live up to it, or tackle the lofty goals it sets in the opening sequence. The film starts with background and context, and unfortunately, that story, one with mobsters that pack a punch, is much more interesting to read than watch.
Middling Through And Through
Written by Jon Carlo and Joe Gilford, somewhat mobster in their own rights due to the slicing of this story, the film follows local policeman Ed Croswell (David Arquette) on his hunt to figure out what’s going on in his little town of Apalachin in upstate New York. Set in 1957, the movie follow Croswell as he meets with his partner (the reliable P.J. Byrne being uncommonly average), his love interest (Jennifer Esposito who you might know from Master of Disguise), and his boss within the police department.
Croswell, through some not-so-difficult police work, learns that scores of mobsters are meeting at the house of local organized crime member Joe Barbara (director Danny Abeckaser). Big wig crime boss Vito Genovese (Robert Davi) wants to hold a sit-down with all the other crime bosses in the U.S. and this chat is the subject of Croswell’s policework.
Abeckaser actually becomes the bright spot of the movie, as his acting supersedes anything else you see on screen during the nearly 90-minute runtime. His frantic nature and disposition regarding throwing a big BBQ is relatable, hilarious, and enjoyable, even if that wasn’t his intention. If there’s anything to take from this film, it’s the fact that BBQs are stressful and need more planning than you think!
You’ve seen these actors before, yet you likely won’t want to see them again. The jokes don’t land, the action remains tepid, and the entire plot feels like a story being repeated for the tenth time, with some details correct, others superfluous, and some just made up. Sharing a release year with The Irishman certainly doesn’t help the cause either, as it will always get compared to other mob-related films.
Why Do These Arrests Matter?
Besides the performances and writing, the central plot lacks stakes, and this is likely the film’s biggest flaw. We understand that there are members of organized crime coming together in one spot, but, and it’s tough to play devil’s advocate for the mobsters here, a lack of criminality exists. They certainly are meeting for a BBQ, but BBQs are far from illegal.
We even almost see Croswell hit them on an illegal meat purchase, but that would be quite an underwhelming arrest. They bought the meat wholesale, so that makes them criminals? We don’t actually see these people commit heinous crimes. We see glimpses of murders, but none of it resonates to a point where you care if Croswell arrests these men, especially Abeckaser’s Barbara, who just got roped into throwing this party. You aren’t concerned with Croswell catching people you’re seeing for the first time, those you get introduced to the audience with 15 minutes left in the film.
Mob Town: Conclusion
Croswell’s big achievement at the end of the film lacks weight, meaning, and significance, making the previous 90 minutes more of a waste than a treat. The story, though interesting to read about, doesn’t work as a feature-length film. A short film could have been in order, but an article would be the best way to consume these events, and that’s a tough pill to swallow for everyone involved in this project.
Though featuring actors and events you’ve seen before, Mob Town should have been left on the shelves, giving audiences a lack of reasons to justify its runtime, and subsequently its existence.
Mob Town was released on December 13th 2019.
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