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Rating: 4.25 out of 5
As I try to watch all these Academy Award films, I landed upon Prizzi’s Honor. A movie from 1985, the year I was born, that starred Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner. I had no idea this film even existed. I only watched it because Anjelica Huston won for Best Supporting Actress. I didn’t know what to expect, but it had to be decent with Jack Nicholson in the lead role. When I read that he was nominated for an Academy Award for this role, my ears perked up, and I became more intrigued.
While watching this film, I saw that Hollywood took a snippet of the plot of this film, used it years later, and made another film that became a box-office hit. I will share my thoughts on that because Hollywood loves copying and pasting. Where are the original thoughts? It means that I have a chance of making my own screenplay that will one day become a movie. It is funny how many films are copies of other films with minor twists. I want to give props to this film for being entertaining and funny.
What is Prizzi’s Honor about? Directed by John Huston, it follows Charley Partanna (Nicholson), who is the best hitman for a New York Mafia family led by the old-ass Don Corrado Prizzi (Hickey). Don Prizzi’s business empire is handled by his two sons, Dominic (Richardson) and Eduardo (Loggia), and right-hand homeboy, Angelo (Randolph), who is Charley’s pops. During a family wedding, Charley is making small talk when he spots a FOINE woman in the corner. He asks Maerose Prizzi (Huston) who that FOINE ass woman is. Maerose is going through her own shit as she is estranged from her father, Dominic, because she threw up the deuces and ran off with another dude. Oh, and did I forget that she still has some MAJOR feelings for Charley from when they used to be lovers before she ran off? The freakin drama.
Things get crazy when Charley goes to Cali to carry out a hit. He learns that the dude has been stealing from a Nevada casino, and to make matters worse, the dude is the estranged husband of Irene Walker (Turner), aka the woman he was crushing on and thinks is FOINE from the wedding. Irene pays back some of the money that her husband stole, and Charley is like cool, because I think you didn’t have anything to do with that crime. What does the pair do? These fools fall in love, travel to Mexico, and get married. Maerose hears this and is like, homegirl is also a hitman or hitwoman. Charley can’t believe it when his pops tell him she is a contractor and has the same job. What is Charley supposed to do now?
If you read that wonderful plot summary, you might think, “This sounds familiar.” Where have I heard a story about two mob hitmen falling in love, getting married, and finding out about each other? You guessed it! The film is Mr. and Mrs. Smith, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I don’t care what anyone says. Yup, you can’t fool me. Let me talk about this film as it came out way before that film. I would say that watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith took away from this film because it seemed familiar to me, and I wanted to say that this film was a rip-off. Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is the rip-off.
Sorry, went on a tangent for a second. The plot of this film was funny and entertaining. Who would see two people that do the same job for almost rival families fall in love, but then shit goes crazy when one betrays the other. Charley is all over the place with his thoughts and how he acts. The pair together is even worse together as they mess up quite a bit. They do a hit and was scoot free when the elevator opens, and they have to shoot the woman who saw the crime. This makes things worse as the woman is the police chief’s wife. This sets off events where Charley might have to wax Irene. After a trip, things come where Charley is looking for a permanent divorce and might get back with Maerose.
Besides the story, the best part of this film is the acting. On the men’s side, Jack Nicholson as Charley Partanna was hilarious. What got me was the accent Nicholson used in this film. It wasn’t bad at all, but something I wasn’t expecting. I shouldn’t be surprised as Nicholson is one of the best actors of his generation and all-time. Nicholson just knows how to deliver in any role that he is in, and this is another film that shows his amazing range. Another person who needs to be given props is William Hickey as Don Corrado Prizzi. He played the elderly Don with style and greatness. He was funny as he seemed tired of the business and everyone involved. Dude looked like he needed a long ass nap or a major vacation.
On the female side, Kathleen Turner was good as he had three different names: Irene Walkervisks, Irene Walker, and Mrs. Heller. This is the first film I think she did a partial nude scene in. I’m not hating, and she is FOINE. Turner is seductive in this role with a little humor as she does things to seduce Charley but also tries to keep her cover. Finally, there is Anjelica Huston as Maerose Prizzi. Huston won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in this role. She played this role as the woman trying to get back in the good graces of her pops but also trying to get Charley back by supporting him and inviting him for dinner. Huston is a beauty in this film, showing a character with flaws but trying to do right.
Prizzi’s Honor is one of those hidden gem films you don’t know about. It has a great plot and great acting, but if you watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith, it might throw you off. Damn, Hollywood and their copying and pasting. No matter, this film is a funny take on being a mob hitman with great acting from Nicholson, Turner, and Huston. I highly recommend watching this old-school film.
