High hopes for this one folks. Not since the Departed has this reviewer been so psyched for a major feature film. Walking out of the film I had but one thought on my mind. Moustaches. More to the point I wondered how much further in life I would succeed if I were to don a moustache? Everyone in this movie has a moustache and they seem to empower even the weakest of characters. Were the 70’s really that cool? Did moustaches really have such an effect on your everyday Joe? That is a review in, and of it self.
American Gangster serves up your typical rise to the top arch criminal fair. This time Denzel Washington plays Frank Lucas, a ruthless entrepreneur who pushes heroin to the top of the sales list by offering a better product at a lower price. (better product in the heroin business seems to mean the dope that comes closest to killing you without actually killing you, although it still kills you sometimes).
Lucas is the heir apparent to Bumpy Johnson, a famous Harlem Gangster who’s Robin in the Hood antics are hypocritically exemplified by his handing out Turkeys on Thanksgiving to the same junkies who poison themselves with his dope.
The opening scene of the movie shows Lucas (more on this later) pumping a rival drug dealer full of bullets after setting him on fire. After Bumpy dies, Lucas goes to Viet Nam and buys bulk amounts of heroin from a Chinese general who runs his own poppy field. Lucas smuggles the junk into the states via coffins of dead soldiers via an inside family member in the service.
Frank Lucas brings his family up to North Carolina and together they build an empire that rivals the mafia. Along the way, he marries a Puerto Rican beauty queen, kills a man in broad day-light (favorite scene) in front of fifty eye-witnesses, and wears a chinchilla coat and hat that would put any god-fearing pimp to shame (Goldie Mac included). He also upstages the mafia with his earning power. Enter Armand Assante. Assante plays the mob boss that tries to do business with Lucas. Armand Assante may be the single most ridiculous actor in Hollywood today. His depiction of the “mob guy” in this movie makes Pacino look like an under actor. No one seemed to laugh out loud with me in the theater every time Assante opened his mouth. Trust me, he is worth the price of admission all by himself. The only true surprise in this movie is that Assante’s ridiculous character gets upstaged by an even more ridiculous character. Bad cop Josh Brolin. First off, Josh Brolin should not be allowed to play a tough guy. Second off, his moustache was fabulous and should have had its own billing in this movie.
Russell Crowe plays the one good cop in Jersey (sounds like a Springsteen tune) who is obsessed with catching Lucas. The movie follows the formula of Goodfellas and Blow and all those other movies that enable our countries fascination with crime to be fed. In the end Lucas becomes a snitch and, apparently, Russel Crowe becomes a US attorney. Moral of the story. Crime doesn’t pay blah blah.
This brings me to the main flaw in the movie. Denzel Washington has ceased being an actor. He is simply Denzel Washington in different forms. The bad cop Denzel, the disgruntled African American Denzel, the heroin dealer Denzel etc. I never believed he was Frank Lucas. My disbelief was never suspended. He did a fine job, he punched his own chest as has become his calling card and he walked through the rest. This is all the more apparent should anyone actually see the real Frank Lucas on A&E as he has been prominently displayed over the last few weeks of the media blitz. The REAL Frank Lucas is a jive ass pimp who talks like Sporty James ala Garret Morris from Hunter tv fame as opposed to the demure classy Denzel portrayal. Anyway, this review has already taken up too much ink. Decent movie, but nothing great.
Final note. I haven’t shaved in a week and still not even a shadow…Damn you Josh Brolin…Damn you straight to hell!!!
**1/2
-DMC
