WANNABES (2000)

Directed by Charles Adessi and William DeMeo. Starring William DeMeo, Conor Dubin, Raymond Serra, Joe Viterelli, Joe D'Onofrio, Daniel Maugotta. Drama. Synopsis: An ambitious young man, his brother, and their friends grow up in Brooklyn with their eye on becoming somebody in the neighborhood. They start in gambling, extortion, and loan sharking and work their way up to being with  the most established crime  family in the neighborhood, but the cost is understanding the real meaning of family in the life they have chosen.  

Movies about the Mafia have long been among the most popular and endearing in American cinema for decades, and those of us who are fans of the genre just keep coming back for more. Wannabes is yet another foray into the world of Cosa Nostra, with the focus being on some young guys from the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn wanting to become what they are not: part of a crew, part of a family. The story is told mostly in narrative flashback, with the voice of Paulie (Conor Dubin) telling us the story and setting up many of the scenes involving the leader of the group, his brother Angelo (William Demeo) and their friends as they claw their way to respectability in the neighborhood by running their own sportsbook, extortion, and their attempted foray into the lucrative "protection" racket.

Angelo is brimming with ambition and will not be denied, always seeking to push the envelope as far as possible, to the point of getting into a p****** contest, figuratively....(well, you'll have to check out the flick to fully appreciate that clever double entendre) with Vinny (Joe D'Onofrio) the son of Santo (Joe Viterelli ),boss of the number one family in the neighborhood. This presents a problem as the seed of a conflict between the two, especially when Santo brings Angelo's crew into the fold to work for him.

Angelo is so good at what he does that he and his crew become favorites of Santo, with Angelo outshining Vinny. Well, the tension between the two factions of the family grows, especially in light of Santo's obviously failing health. Angleo is doing so well that he demands that Paulie get out of the life, go to school and find a nice girl to settle down with.

Santo's decision to "make" Angelo a part of the family, prior to doing that for his own son, Vinny, is the fuse that sets off the powder keg in the wake of Santo's death. By that time, Paulie is out of the life but finds himself drawn back in as he concludes he must be there for his family and friends.

Wannabes is a small budget film that will not, and does not try, to equal the Godfather or Good Fellas. You really only get the sense of limited budget during the action/fight scenes, of which there are relatively few for a mafia movie. In fact, it might be too easy to classify this as just a "Mob" movie, as it is the classic story of the rise to the top of people coming from the outside, clawing their way up and the choices they make to attain success-however its defined-and the prices they pay for achieving that success.

You'll see some faces you recognize here from other mafia movies, although no superstars. Joe Vitterelli (Mickey Blue Eyes, Analyze This) will probably be the face that jumps out the most, and it should be, as his look was tailor made to play a mob guy, and he did that very well and, in this film, leaves his traditional role as tough guy or consiglerie to be the main man. Joe D'Onofrio is also really good as the epitome of the spoiled son of the boss, more bark than bite and with a sense of entitlement.

Demeo does a pretty good job in his role, although you would expect the leader of a group on the outside trying to get in to be a little more dynamic or physically imposing. Dubin also does well as the brother, Paulie, although it's very obvious that he isn't really Italian. Look for Raymond Serra to steal a few scenes as Uncle Tommy.

Overall, this is a nice little movie, especially for fans of the mobster genre that might be looking for a hidden gem-although this was made some time ago, I had not even heard of it until recently. As for whether its a "gem" , or not, that's up to you. For me, it falls short of that, but I definitely would watch again and would buy it for the collection at the right price. Last, but not least, it was one of the last performances by Joe Vitterelli before he passed away.