When people talk about Robert De Niro’s body of work, why is this movie so rarely brought up? Same for Joe Pesci? This movie is truly astounding and consistently gets overlooked. Furthermore, I have never, EVER heard anybody who has seen it, walk away and have anything terribly negative to say. It’s like Shawshank in that everybody seems to dig it. I’m here to give it it’s well-deserved props. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present, A Bronx Tale.
Start Film
The first thing I have to say is to enjoy the soundtrack. Incredibly underrated. De Niro directed this and knocked it out of the park. The story is told and centered around a young boy named Calogero, but he is called C, so I will do the same. We get some doo-wop music. He talks about the Yankees, and I’m not even mad, and I hate the Yankees. This takes place in 1960, at least early on. This is an Italian neighborhood, and I love the guy yelling at his girl, Marie, then sweet-talking her, then yelling again. Ha. We learn that Sonny is the big man around these parts. He is played by Chazz Palminteri.
Mmmmm, NYC pizza. I need to get my ass back to the city someday. I got some unfinished business there. It is pizza-related, duh. De Niro plays C’s dad, Lorenzo, and he is a city bus driver. The kids like to hitch rides on the back and he loves to fuck with them. There’s that great De Niro smile. His mom’s name is Rosina, but she doesn’t have a huge role.
C is 9 at the time, and he takes a lot of interest in Sonny and his crew, just like any boy would. They spend a lot of time at the bar. We meet Tony Toupee, and he is the owner in name only. He is a failed singer. Eddie Mush was a terrible gambler. He’s pretty funny. There’s Jojo the Whale, a truly large man. Frankie Coffeecake is named that because his face looks like a Drake’s. These are all solid names. Jimmy Whispers is a guy who only talks very secretive. Annnnd Rosina catches C checking out the bar and he gets the momma verbal lashing.
C likes to imitate Sonny, as most of the boys picked up on these guy’s mannerisms. C doesn’t want steak tonight, so daddy has to give him the business. Haha, Lorenzo takes C’s side during a dinner conversation, but he’s a good protective dad, but it’s funny. They don’t want him going to the bar. Lorenzo got them Yankees tickets, so C is pumped. We meet Slick who is named that due to his hair, and there’s Mario, and they like to steal from Phil the Peddler. Little rude bastards. Boys will by boys. All these boys got some gold necklaces. Slick sees some blacks on the bus and has an issue, calling them niggers, and he is just a dick, but it is due to his parent’s ignorance. It was the 60’s after all, but still a shame.
There’s a little fender bender outside on the street, and the guy who got hit took a bat to the guy’s windshield, so Sonny shot that fool with the bat. They guys quickly try covering it up. He notices that C saw the whole thing and keeps looking back. Sonny is not to be trifled with. C’s parents drag C up to the apartment real fast. The police show up shortly thereafter. That was fucking fast. They want to question C. They want him to pick out the guy who shot the man. Uh oh. At this point, I wasn’t sure which direction this would go. The whole neighborhood is out spectating. They got Sonny’s guys lined up against the wall of the bar. They go one by one asking C, and of course, Sonny is the last in line. Sonny’s eyes are just piercing, but not in a mean way when looking at C. C says that it’s not Sonny. The officers dismiss Lorenzo and C. Sonny looks quite stunned. C is proud that he didn’t rat. Lorenzo says that he did a good thing for a bad man. Fair enough, but it’s better than being a rat in that neighborhood. It reminds me of The Boondocks episode about not snitching.
The next day, Lorenzo gives C a talking to about how you can have all the talent in the world, but it doesn’t do you any good if you don’t do the right thing. I wonder if Spike lee would concur. C rides the bus with his dad this particular day. At a stop, Sonny sees Lorenzo and gives him a smile of sorts. C gets off the bus and Sonny gives C a smile and nod. Whispers gets on the bus and talks to Lorenzo and tells him that his kid is a good kid. He offers him a job to transport some things, but Lorenzo is a man of conviction, and he refuses. Smart move, I think. It was for $150 a week, that was a lot just to run numbers. Rosina wishes he’d accepted. It was Sonny’s way of trying to say thank you.
Haha, C goes to confession and says that he witnessed a murder. Their conversation was priceless. In the end, C rationalized that while the Priest’s man was bigger up there, down here, his man may be more powerful. Sonny requests to see Sonny. C is shy, but he is pumped too. C asks him if he killed that man over a parking space, and Sonny simply says that he will understand it when he gets older. Also, Sonny put down the Yankees. Instant favorite character.
C starts working at Sonny’s serving drinks and getting tips. The guys are shooting dice down in the basement, I love this sort of thing in a film. Sonny is letting C roll the dice for him. Jojo keeps breathing on Sonny. Mush wants to bet on Sonny’s bet, so he gets sent to the bathroom. Haha. Jojo is back to breathing on him, so Jojo is put with Mush, HAHA. This is one of the funniest scenes in the film no doubt. Frankie Coffeecakes is getting yelled at for looking at the kid, so he is sent to the bathroom as well, and it’s this little closet. C makes Sonny’s bet, and Sonny raked in some serious cash. C made 11 straight passes. Lucky kid. Sonny gave him a cut. This is where Sonny gives Calogero the nickname of C. C gets treated specially by everybody now, free fruit, and all they want is a good word tossed their way to Sonny.
He is so happy to bring his mom some free peaches and comes home to some pissed looking parents. They found $600. Damn kid. Lorenzo wants to take the money back to Sonny, he is pissed, and Rosina is against this. Lorenzo is a fucking hothead. Well, this is gonna get awkward. He finds Sonny, throws the money down on the table and is acting like a dick. Sonny tells Lorenzo that he respects him, but not to talk to him like that. Lorenzo just wants Sonny to leave C alone. This escalates, and Lorenzo is getting hotheaded and Sonny is about to fucking slap him. Great scene. C sees only the glamour of Sonny’s lifestyle and Lorenzo is preaching hard work. Can’t blame anybody in this scenario. C, of course, didn’t listen to his dad and kept going to the bar.
1968
They are at the horse races. I love any scene involving gambling. C has a nice suit now and is with Sonny’s crew. Their horse is killing it, then they hear Mush is cheering on their horse. Sonny gets pissed and is already tearing up the tickets before the race is over. Hahaha, and sure enough, the horse lost. Mush is the worst, but hilarious.
Around 48:50, we see the boys now have their own social club called Deuces Wild. If only it was the 9 Deuces. They see some chicks, so they naturally are yelling at them, and the girls just walk on by. Mario tells them about his text about knowing if a woman is good enough for you. Per Mario, you get on a highway, pull up next to an 18 wheeler, get the driver’s attention, and you push the girl’s head down on your crotch. If the girl does something with your dick, then she’s a slut that can’t be trusted. Fair enough, but what a stupid test. A car full of black dudes drive by and the boys start running their mouths, nigger this, nigger that, and C is not having it. C does see a dude that owes him money, but the kid runs off. Lorenzo sees his boy, waves him over to go on a ride. There is a beautiful black chick on the bus checking C out and he catches her eye, and he checks her out. She’s pretty. Gives him a smile. These 2 just keep staring at each other. Loving the music during this section of the film. This was a no-no in his neighborhood. I say fuck the hood, you get with that cute girl. Your buddies will be envious.
C sees Louie and wants his fucking money. Sonny is like, don’t be a fucking amateur. C explains the situation, and C wants to crack him. Sonny says to just write it off as he doesn’t like this guy, so this guy will never be in his life ever again. Smart man. Sonny spent 10 years in prison, he spent a lot of time reading Machiavelli. Sony explains about being loved by the locals, feared by everybody else. And then it happens. A guy was telling Sonny about the food that he got for Sonny and he can’t hear because these fucking bikers drive-by, loud as fuck. This reminds me of the South Park episode, and it is fucking hilarious.
Sonny follows these bikers to the bar. Frankie is telling the bikers that they aren’t dressed appropriately, and Sonny tries to figure out what is going down. In the background “Come Together” is playing and it is perfect. The bikers say that they just want a couple of beers and they ain’t looking for trouble. Sonny says to have a couple of beers and be on their way. Sonny pulls C aside. The bikers take the beers and shake them and spray the bartender. Sonny tells them to leave. The lead biker says they will determine when to leave. Well, Sonny locks the door, the bikers turn around. Sonny says “Now, you can’t leave” and the biker’s faces just turned to dread. In comes, Sonny’s crew and they beat the holy fuck out of these dumb fuck bikers. C evern gets hit, the toupee is ripped off. It is chaos and a thing of beauty. This is my favorite scene, no question. Stupid fucking bikers. Sonny and crew drag these pricks outside and throw them on them their bikes, and then the boys destroy the bikes. Everybody is looking on and start beating the biker that tries to escape. Too harsh? I have heard that opinion before. I don’t agree with it, I feel the bikers got exactly what they deserved for being disrespectful pricks, but everybody is entitled to an opinion, right?
Nicky Zero is a young guy who is peddling guns to C’s buddies. Sonny intervenes and slaps the shit out of Nicky and gives the boys a tongue lashing, saying no fucking guns. He then takes C aside to talk to him. Sonny is pissed. Sonny says that his friends are jerk offs that are gonna get him in trouble. To avoid guns, stay in school, and not do what he does. He wants C to make something of him. Sonny invites him to the big boxing fight, but Lorenzo is taking C. Really shit seats. At the fight, C sees Sonny down at the ringside. One of Sonny’s guys comes up and invites both C and Lorenzo to join them, but Lorenzo is too hard headed. C backs his dad, but tries to talk some sense into him. Lorenzo guilts him a bit. Tough position to be in.
C finally sees his ebony goddess at school, and he was too afraid to come up and talk to her. By the way, I Only Have Eyes For You is being sung, and it is awesome. C definitely wants to pursue it. The guys want C to join them, but he is scouting his girl from a window. Time to make your play C. DO IT!!! C waits for his guys to leave, and now he tries to play it cool. He gets her name, Jane. He was expecting something more exotic. This interaction is awkward, I don’t know if they were told to act this way, or if both suck as actors. C is gonna walk her home, oh boy. Ohhh, she likes his eyes. She even asks him out to the movies. I think it’s her that can’t act, but she is cute. She likes to call him Cologero. They are now entering the more tan area of the neighborhood, and the music naturally changes, and it’s still awesome. C sticks out pretty badly. She has really cute eyes. They say their awkward goodbyes and smile and all that shit. C did it, he was lucky that she was as forward as she was. An angry black guy throws a glass bottle at C, ya know, because everybody hates everybody over skin color, because that seems reasonable???? Fucking hell.
Of course, C is with his buddies, there are some black guys on their bikes, and his one buddy starts beating these black guys. It’s fucking foolish, but these were the times. C doesn’t want to join in. C comes over and tells the one guy to stay down as he doesn’t want to hurt him. Well, the guys are ridiculous, and fortunately, the cops are called. C was trying, but not hard enough. I would have punched my buddy trying to do that dumb shit.
C tells Sonny about what happened, and about Jane. So Sonny has questions, and he tells C to not worry about his buddies. Only worry about how he feels. Gotta do what your heart tells you. You only get 3 great women in your life. Fun fact, I totally buy into this belief. Don’t ask me any further questions, but I believe if. Sonny wants C to borrow his car, and give Jane the Sonny door test. You get out, lock both doors. You bring her to the car, unlock the door for her, close. You walk around behind the car, and look in the window. If she doesn’t reach over and unlock the door, then you dump her ass, she ain’t worth it. I will absolutely admit to having done this test before. Newer cars ruin the test. Rain also can add to the test, so keep that in mind gentlemen. Ladies, always remember that you are being tested when you least expect it.
Lorenzo tells C to worry about his little head doing more thinking than his big head. C has some great mentors. Baby I Need Your Loving is no playing. Solid.
It’s time for the date, so C locks the doors and he goes to get Jane. There she is. She looks serious. Uh oh, her brother got beat up in C’s neighborhood. She asks if he was there, but C denies that he was there. Well, she brought her bro Willie along, so she can get it straight. Yup, it was the guy that C told him to stay down. Uh oh, now she knows that he was there. C says that it was the other guys, and C says that he is the only guy that tried to help him. And then C says fuck you you fucking nigger, and all the good vibes are fucking gone. Just, stop fucking using that word. Nigga is cool, but not in anger. There are rules to this damnit! They are complex, but just don’t say it with the er. C returns, he looks dejected, and Sonny asks what happened. C just wants to go, but Sonny wants to hang out with him, but C is hurting. We all say dumb things that we cannot un-say, and it sucks. I feel his pain, and it is shitty. The power of forgiveness is an important thing. Even if you don’t like the person anymore, forgiveness is key, if you can muster it.
Lorenzo is giving C shit about driving Sonny’s car. C is not in the mood. C is being pissy because his dad don’t make shit for money, and once again says “the working man is a sucker” which has been said 3 times already. C storms out, and C’s buddies show up. Suddenly, Sonny shows up and slaps C and asks him where he went with his car. Sonny’s car got fucked up, and Sonny is super pissed, and C is breaking down crying. C says that Sonny has been like a father to him. Lorenzo shows up to ask what they are doing with his son, and Sonny’s goons punch Lorenzo and knock him to the ground.
Along the Watchtower is playing, and C’s friends want him to hop in the car, and go for a rides to fuck up some er’s. The guys have some Molotov’s in the back. For fuck’s sake. One of the dumbasses lights a cigarette and the Molotov’s are right at his feet. C is in the middle in the back, and he can’t get out, he was afraid of what his buddies would say. He is hearing his dad’s words, he’s hearing Sonny’s. They stop at a light, and Sonny knocks on the window and demands that C gets out of the car thankfully. He tells them to stay away from C. I love Sonny, despite his flaws.
C is all pissy at Sonny about not trusting anybody. It’s the only way Sonny knows how to live and keep his power, and it’s a shitty way to live. Jane was just there looking for him, so he tracks her down. Willie told her the truth. more awkward acting. They make up, hold hands. Aww, he tells her that she’s beautiful and kisses her. She says that ain’t no kiss, and then she lays one into him. Good for C. He then asks her if she knows how to make sauce, and she just wants to make out. Typical dude move right there. I’d so have done that. Suddenly, C remembers that her bro is in trouble. He has her get in the car and walks around, looks, she unlocks it, and he is so pumped. It brings a smile to my face every time. This is A Man’s World is playing. The dumb Italians are shooting up the brothers. Now they are tossing the Molotovs like assholes. One black guy gets up, tosses the Molotov in their moving car, and it lights the other Molotovs up, and well, those 4 ignorant fucks are dead. Good.
C and Jane show up to see the carnage. C sees his charred buddies, and the black guys are being dicks to C. So much hate man, so much. C was grateful for Sonny. He tells Willie that he was sorry, and C has to bail. He wants to run back and thank Sonny for saving his life, so he is running back. We have some jazz playing. Everybody is outside at the bar. C is looking for Sonny. He finally finds him, but the bar is packed, so he is wading through the crowd. Sonny was smiling to see C. One face in the crowd wasn’t smiling, he looked pissed. He walks up behind Sonny and puts a bullet in his bubble goose. It breaks my heart every time. Just once I want C to be able to talk to Sonny and thank him. Come to find out, the killer was the son of the guy that C witnessed Sonny killing 8 years ago.
Everybody is at the funeral, and it is loaded with flowers. Poor Mush, he’s crying. most everybody is there having their own conversations, not many folks caring. C stays after the funeral, and he asks for a few more minutes to be alone with Sonny. He tells Sonny that she passed the test and thank him for saving his life. Then comes in Joe Pesci. C tells him that Sonny saved his life, and Pesci knows who C is. His name is Carmine. Sonny saved Carmine’s life once, at the very beginning of the movie, the guy who got hit with the bat. Carmine is gonna take care of things for awhile and told C that if he needs anything, to stop by the bar. C asks if the fight was really over a parking space, and Carmine says no. I love Pesci. Lorenzo stops in to pay his respects to Sonny as well. C apologizes to his dad for everything. C is like super happy that Lorenzo said that he didn’t hate Sonny.
C does this whole spiel at the end about how to give and receive love unconditionally, and accept people for who they are. The worst thing in life is wasted talent. I concur with those sentiments.
End film.
TLDR
What did I learn from this film?
That is a loaded question. This movie teaches so many great life lessons, especially for a guy. You learn the whole love unconditionally, and to accept people for who they are. There are numerous people in my life who may deserve a permanent residence on my proverbial “shit list”, but nobody wins from that. Hate is a horrible thing to keep stored up in you. Some things are absolutely unforgivable, I get that, but I implore anybody reading this to really think about those that you say that you may truly hate. If they aren’t bothering you anymore, if you’ve had that closure, let it go. You will be better off for it. You don’t have to be friends, but you’ll feel a lot better letting it go. Wasted talent was another big thing that they talk about. I admit I am a total waste of talent. It’s my fault, and it’s stupid, and I need to do better. I will say this, if there is something that you truly want to accomplish or something that you keep putting off, fucking go out and do it, you never know when death comes knocking on your door. Don’t waste what you have been given or blessed with. I also learned the car door test, and as I said, I absolutely have used it in the past. I have to admit, not a single girl has failed it. So despite things not always working out, at least they had a modicum of consideration, and it helps in some weird way. As for the 3 great ones in life, I can’t speak for everybody. Maybe you feel that you’ve had more, or maybe less. I know where I am at number wise, and leave it at that, and no I won’t answer any questions about that. Finally, I have to say this because it matters to me. We have to stop being such a divided nation when it comes to stupid shit such as race. Yeah, there are differences, and we will always have disagreements. That’s no reason to be a hateful person. Just because one idiot cries racism when there was none intended, that doesn’t mean that you cry reverse racism. That’s what 7-year-olds do. We are above this, and we need to figure out how to make everybody feel comfortable. Don’t be afraid to call out people for spouting stupid shit.
Why did I pair this up with Twilight?
Well, initially I did it because, in both movies, we have this romance between 2 people that aren’t really from the same culture I guess you could say. Between human and vampires, or whites and blacks, there was that. Secondly, Bell is involved in a struggle of sorts involving Edward and Jacob, a triangle. Well, in this film, not only do you have the obvious triangle of C with his dad and Sonny, but also the triangle involving his hateful dumbass friends and with Jane and her people for lack of better term. That was a constant conflict, and C knew the right thing but veered into the wrong path too often. Hell, you could even make the argument of how C was constantly struggling with the poor working man vs the rich gangster, or the obvious right thing, vs the cloudy right thing. Bella had the struggle of her mom and dad. Lots of various struggles in both films. In the end, both girls accept their man for who they are, unconditionally. That word was used in both films.
Final thoughts
This is one of those movies that sit with you for awhile I feel. It stays with me for a while. I think about things and the values behind them. This is a beautiful movie that isn’t too shlocky, but at times, I could see where somebody may not like it. For me, the pacing was very even, never boring, and it told a great, full story. The soundtrack was incredible. De Niro and Chazz were both great, and I loved Mush a lot. As I said, I can’t tell if Jane was a bad actress, or if that was how she was directed, but some of her stuff was awkward. As you may know, I don’t ever believe in giving a movie a perfect 10 as every movie has its flaws.
Rating: 9.0 – Yes, I love this movie and I think it is one of the best films that I have ever seen. It holds a personal nostalgia for me, and maybe I am looking at it through rose-tinted glasses, but if I am, I don’t mind. It works for me. I truly recommend this.
All the pictures used in this blog are for review purposes. They are the property of:
- Price Entertainment (presents)
- Penta Entertainment (in association with) (presents)
- Tribeca Productions
- B.T. Films (copyright holder)
Please go find a copy and support the creators.