The Pope of Greenwich Village

Year: 1984 - United Artists  Director: Stuart Rosenberg  Screenplay: Vincent Patrick  Cinematography: John Bailey  Starring: Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Daryl Hannah, Geraldine Page, Kenneth McMillan, Burt Young, M. Emmet Walsh, and Jack Kehoe

The Pope of Greenwich Village is the Italian-American contribution to the slacker genre of film. You watch this movie and you wonder to yourself, "What the hell ever happened to Eric Roberts?"  My theory is that half of the time he is a body double for his sister whenever they don't want to show her "big" hips in her films. Eric Roberts is sensational in the role of Paulie, a very stupid waiter who wants to live the high life, even if it means stealing from the mob. Paulie is so stupid it is no wonder that only his blood relations will have anything to do with him. His best friend is his cousin Charlie, portrayed by Mickey Rourke. Charlie tends to slap Paulie around a bit whenever he gets made at him. I have to tell you, whenever Charlie starts slapping around Paulie in this movie, it won't bother you. In fact, you might even find yourself yelling at the screen for Charlie to hit him again. That's how infuriatingly stupid Paulie is.

Charlie is not as stupid as Paulie but he is blind to anything outside of his friends, family, and neighborhood. Diane, Charlie's girlfriend, (Daryl Hannah) is totally baffled by Charlie's devotion to Paulie. "Italians don't outgrow people. They outgrow clothes," Charlie tells her. There is a small but significant scene where Charlie, Paulie and a few men from the neighborhood are playing stick ball in a playground. These are grown men who still act and think at times like children. Diane keeps hoping Charlie will grow up at take some responsibility. However, her definition of what a man is is at odds with Charlie's. Diane has had a rural up-bringing where hard work is valued. For Charlie, growing up in Greenwich Village has taught him that hard work is for suckers. The Mafioso wise guys and restaurant owners are the local icons. A measure of a man is not how much money he has, or how he gets it; it's by the way he spends it.

Through his petty thievery, Paulie loses his waiter job and gets Charlie fired from his maître d' position also. Unemployed and deeply in debt, Charlie decides to participate on a burglary masterminded by Paulie. Paulie has enlisted a small-time safecracker, played by Kenneth McMillan, to open a safe in the office of a small shipping company. What Paulie neglects to tell his two partners is that the shipping company belongs to the local mob boss. What complicates matters more is that the money in the safe is protection money meant for the local police. When the bagman, officer Bunky Tiller (Jack Kehoe), is killed during the robbery, life becomes perilous for Paulie and Charlie. The mob boss, Bedbug Eddie; played by Burt Young, has a reputation for dismembering people who cross him. The logical thing for someone to do in the two cousin's situation would be to take the money and leave town. That is exactly what Diane does, who is also pregnant with Charlie's baby. Incredibly, Charlie and Paulie are so tied to their neighborhood that they just stay put and wait for the inevitable to happen.

What this film illustrates is the unique social system operating unsaid for some people living in Greenwich Village. Corruption is common-place and accepted. The local mafiosi have a free run of the neighborhood and keep order through fear, intimidation, and the loyalty of their members. By stealing from the mob and the crooked cops, Paulie and Charlie have disrupted the normal orderly running of this society. As the local criminal leader, Bedbug is obligated to punish the cousins. The dishonest cops also have their hands full keeping their cozy arrangement secret. A great scene in this film is when Bunky's mother (Geraldine Page) goes head-to-head with two corrupt police investigators who are looking for incriminating audio tapes Bunky may have had in his possession when he died.  She is not naive to what her son was doing and proves to be much tougher than the two cops.

When Bedbug's boys track down Paulie, they cut off his thumb while Paulie's gangster uncle looks on. The fear of Bedbug and mob loyalty keep Paulie's uncle from intervening on Paulie's behalf. To work off his debt, Paulie has to go to work for Bedbug as a waiter in Bedbug's private club. Bedbug eventually gets Paulie to turn over Charlie's name. Before confessing to Charlie, Paulie and Charlie bet what money they have left from the robbery on a racehorse that Paulie has an interest in. When Charlie shows suspicion at Paulie's insistence that they skip town with their winnings, Paulie finally reveals his betrayal. After all of this, Charlie still does not reject his cousin.

In the climatic scene, Charlie confronts Bedbug in Bedbug's own club. Charlie has the incriminating tapes that were on officer Bunky's body the night he died. Charlie is standing up and being a man for once, showing amazing courage. However, before the dramatic confrontation has a chance to play out, Paulie intervenes with a cup of coffee laced with lye. Charlie and Paulie triumph over Bedbug; not by heroics, but by deceit. In the two cousins' world, face-to-face combat and a stab in the back are equal means to the same end. At the same time, loyalty and friendship are valued above all else.

This is an interesting story, but having never lived in Greenwich Village, I have no way of knowing if the film is an honest portrayal of the neighborhood, or just perpetuating a Hollywood myth; popularized in such movies as The Godfather and satirized in The Freshman. I find the relationship between Charlie and Paulie intriguing none the less and highly recommend this movie.

For More Information on Eric Roberts go here: http://geocities.datacellar.net/Hollywood/Land/2970/index.html
 

*big hips - During the filming of Pretty Woman and on it's movie posters the studio used a body double for Roberts. I personally like Julia Roberts' big hips. It makes her look like a real woman and not a Barbie doll. It's a shame Hollywood is not comfortable with the way real women look. Lately she has been staying pathetically thin. To see Ms. Roberts in a more natural state check out the excellent film Mystic Pizza. back