Based on a true story, How a Wise Guy gets his wings. But being half Mick, Henry could never go full Made Guy. Didn’t matter too much to him though. He paid his dues, hung with the Boys, was a King Shit himself there for awhile as he rolled in the cash and got the Respects. But, what goes up, must come down.
Nice biopic here, spanning from 1955 to 1963 to 1970 to 1980 as Henry (Ray Liotta) learns to work for himself at the age of 13 and gets in with the local Italianos of a particular persuasion. He’s a quick learner, and his first real lesson revolves around two things. Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut. Good rules to live by. Friends like Tommy and Jimmy can make that a little difficult, though. But zip your lip and do a good job, the world is your oyster. Or, at least New York City or maybe the Burroughs or wherever this technically takes place.
Yeah, it’s a longer movie, but it’s the nice balancing act of covering a lot of ground without delving too deep, highlighting the key moments it needs to cover of points in The Life that Henry experienced. Just a blue-collar man, really. Basically just the police department for Wise Guys, as Henry puts it. Everybody got a piece of the action, everyone happy. Then things change with the decades. Open Grift and Thuggery gets less respect. New avenues of revenue are sought. Even with the Lufthansa Heist, you’re only as good as your latest job. That is, if you’re not whacked as a loose end. Get to live a Big Life, but you also have to pay a Big Price. Liotta good as the main character/narrator, with key roles by Joe “Tommy” Pesci and Travis “Jimmy” Bickle. Lorraine Bracco as the wife does good too. Hard life to accept, but it’s fun while it lasts.
