Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Michael_Elliott Wise Guys (1986)*** (out of 4)Losers Harry (Danny DeVito) and Moe (Joe Piscopo) are at the bottom of the food chain in the Mafia but they find themselves wanted men after they don't place a bet for the local boss (Dan Hedaya). The two head off to Atlantic City to try and find a way to stay alive but soon The Fixer (Lou Albano) is hot on their trail.WISE GUYS isn't the greatest comedy ever made but it's an interesting change of pace for director Brian DePalma who was coming off the less than successful BODY DOUBLE. That film, as well as SCARFACE, weren't huge hits with critics or fans at the time of their release so it's interesting to see the director turn to comedy before following this up with THE UNTOUCHABLES.A lot of this film's success has to go to the supporting cast. Hedaya is quite entertaining in his role of the crime boss and we also get a nice turn by Harvey Keitel who plays another crime boss. DeVito himself is quite funny throughout the movie since it allows him to play up that wild side of his. Personally speaking I've never been the biggest fan of Piscopo but he actually had some nice chemistry here with DeVito. The movie stealer has to be Albano as the overweight murderer who is constantly losing his cool. He's certainly the funniest thing in the film.Story-wise there's really nothing ground-breaking here or anything too funny but WISE GUYS is a good little gem that at least will leave a smile on your face.

MisterWhiplash Let's just say it up front: Brian De Palma doesn't direct comedies, at least not as a major part of his career. When he's done so it's usually in the realm of black comedies or satires, like his early films (Greetings/Hi Mom) or the rightfully maligned Bonfire of the Vanities. His sense of comedy is BIG (note the caps) and broad, but his farce is nowhere near the kind of genius of Mel Brooks. His slapstick is so large and spread out in scenes that it makes Looney Tunes look subtle (having Captain Lou Albino as one of the main bad-guys, the "Fixer" as he's called, is part of it). And the story is fairly idiotic too.Yet I found myself enjoying Wise Guys, but for the little it aimed for. This isn't a grand vision like De Palma would immediately after go for in The Untouchables and Casualties of War. It was a trifle, a way to test himself in a low budget with actors he hadn't worked with before- chiefly stars Danny De Vito and (yes, star) Joe Piscapo. They play grunts whose job is to serve at the behest of mob boss Castelo (Dan Hedaya, hamming it up like it's nobody's business). When the two dopes lay a bet on a horse that isn't the one Castelo bet on and loses, they're each given a charge: each must kill the other to prove loyalty.This, of course, is another set-up for a series of missteps in the two knuckleheads running away from the Castelo bosses, all the way down in Atlantic City as Harry tries to find his Uncle Mike, very much dead. The subtitle for the film could be called 'Wackiness Ensues', and De Palma doesn't let anything go past as being unnoticeable. Particularly is one scene, perhaps De Palma's most daring (or just recognizably 'De Palma) cinematographic-ally when Harry has to go turn on 'the car' that might explode any moment (the shot speeds up and does a 360 as everyone runs away from the scene, a hoot-take on his usual style). And in the script, some lines of dialog and set-ups are so blunt you can feel the force at the back of your head.But somehow, against all of the odds of the 'ho-hum' quality of the set-up, it's fun because of the acting. Joe Piscapo is mentioned today, just his name, as a punch-line, but there was a time when he was at least halfway amusing (mostly in skits with Eddie Murphy on SNL), and here he's let loose with the a character like Moe who, I guess compared to Harry, is the straight guy depending on the scene. Harry, meanwhile, gives Danny De Vito a real chance to chomp at the bit: he's so over the top, but he's also a believable luck-believer (he goes for it the way Bible-thumpers go for God), and in those moments when Piscapo falls totally flat, somehow De Vito comes back in to make things fun in the delirious way. Others like Lou Albino and, on a more subtle-menacing scale, Harvey Keitel, do a competent job in their roles.So, going in and expecting a really great comedy or just an interesting piece of art will mean some disappointment. As a juicy diversion that ask for nothing except a few chuckles by way of the New Jersey Turnpike, it does its job reasonably well; De Palma fans who find themselves going through his thrillers and blockbusters first will come across this, possibly, last in his catalog. But it's far from his worst.

lambiepie-2 This is one of the goofy-est films about the mob ever made, and what a treat that can be. It's silly, unconventional and actually a lot of fun. It didn't deserve the "all bad" reviews it has gotten. It's enjoyable only if you take it in its dumb-silly 'spoofing' context. Not just about making fun of 'the mob', but about two New Jerseyians who wants to be "the big guy" stuck in a little situation. But...in this film, these two guys want to just be accepted by "the big guys" which just happens to be the neighborhood Jersey mob.The film goes against everything we were familiar with in mob films up until this time - it's a low-low-rent Godfather tale with two bumbling 'wanna-bes' soldiers played by Danny DeVito and Joe Piscapo. They grew up the best of friends in this mob neighborhood, but obviously do not have the style, skills or connections as their other 'made' neighbors. Their higher associated mob neighbors consider them the laughing stock and annoying as gnats at a picnic. And the mob jobs they do get are no more than minuscule to say the least (pick up the dry cleaning, get the coffee). But things change as an 'important', but fairly common, mob assignment is finally given for each to be carried out.The jokes are silly and ...regional. Similar feel to those in Rodney Dangerfields' "Easy Money". Does that mean ya gotta be a New Jerseyian to figure it out? No, but it helps. The supporting characters are seemingly over blown caricatures of Piscapo's SNL "You from Jersey, I'm from Jersey" routines and of much better mob films up to 1985 -- which is why in some parts this was actually funny. DeVito was funny (and yes, sometimes annoying) as the "almost, but not quite" wanta fit in (and really should have by lineage) mob Italian soldier who's Jewish friend (Piscapo) may have been holding him back. But that's the rub as they say, the friendship between these two, that not even the New Jersey mob can touch.

jed-estes I bought this when the DVD came out as I try to do with all of Brian De Palma's movies. I had waited to see this one for a while and I was sadly displeased when I watched it. I thought it would be a real comedy and be funny, but is just what it is. Nothing happens that can be called funny or moving. I was not emotionally stirred through the whole movie and felt like I had just wasted two hours of my life. This and Sisters are De Palma's worst I say to everyone never watch these turkeys. Danny Devitto is usually a solid actor and can make me laugh but he has nothing to work with in this film. Joe Piscipo acts crappy as usual and I still can't stand him. What was De Palma thinking when he made this other than needing a check. He does not even have his signature style in this film the only thing that lets you know it's him is a shoddy 360 shot that he does in most of his films. Do your self a favor and avoid this one.