The Sopranos night club.

The Sopranos can be quite humorous when it intends to be. But we can get into that later. But one thing that's stood out that is funny to me is the name of the club. Badabing! It's a reference to something Sonny Corleone says to his brother Michael in The Godfather. So naming your club that to me is like REALLY????!!!! That'll attract the FBI like bees to pollen. But in some ways it just makes it a bit comical.

The Sopranos - the end

Finally finished The Sopranos. Is it a good show? Absolutely. Is it for everyone? No.

My wife and I as well as our company watched Oceans 8, and I wasn't that interested. My wife caught my sarcasm, but our company did not. My wife picked up on my displeasure of the dishonest con artist nature portrayed in the movie, and she spoke of how I hold honesty in the utmost highest regard. But later she asked the question how I can feel that way about Oceans 8 and still watch The Sopranos (hinting about the justification of the fictional Jersey mob's actions). But truth is, I can't justify it. The amount of times average innocent people get screwed, railroaded, hurt, and killed on the show by the Soprano crew is staggering. It bothers me. It's because their criminal business model is taking cuts from local businesses run by both average people and mob affiliates and allies. And when someone doesn't do what it takes to pay up what the mob says they have to have, there are supreme consequences. Sometimes it's also a person who's with a mob target or enemy, or an unwitting witness. In the Soprano world, just don't witness any of their activities, even though it's easier said than done. Basically their business is built on dozens or more little money making operations constantly ongoing, and every single one is important in the entire scheme of things. The Godfather trilogy has never bothered me because the Corleone's business strategy is one or two massive operations where they have their own infrastructure and cooperative relationships with relevant entities to keep it going. No innocent people are involved, and everything is built to keep on the up and up. It's still wrong on some levels, but for the most part, the only offended groups would be senators and the FBI. Also, when you look at the family history of the Corleones, they have been the innocents at the hands of an evil and ruthless organization, so why would they turn into the same to someone else?

I don't justify it at all, but the Soprano dynamic adapted to a society that doesn't stay constant for very long. With the tools and resources law enforcement has, big long operations can't stay for very long. It's their reality even if they don't like it.

Despite the brutal by nature of their business model, the other things that make the show unique and good is that Tony has a family, is a suburban dad, seeks to send his kids to college, is involved in their school and extra curricular activities, takes care of extended family, has depression and a mid life crisis, and is seeking therapy....................who happens to be the boss of a New Jersey organized crime family. Also the love-hate relationship between him and his mother and the the Ally one moment and enemy the next relationship between him and his Uncle is quite entertaining. The shop has some very colorful characters with surprising moments of compassion despite the ugliness.

By the way, I'm not going to speculate on the ending. Do what the creator says "don't read into it more than what you see." In fact, he mentions that all it is is a ending snapshot that life goes on, but the audience won't be there to see it anymore.

The difference between joking around and breakin' balls

Joking around is just joking around. You joke around with your friends and family. It's good comraderie. Tony Soprano jokes around with his best friend Artie Bucco (who is not a mob guy). There are plenty of mob guys joking around with mob guys. But then there's breakin' balls.

Breakin' balls starts with joking to someone or about someone concerning a perceived character fault, negative or embarrassing event at the expense of that person. The breakin' balls gets more personal and heated in an effort to illicit the biggest rise out of the other party. Sometimes it's done as starting out as the antagonizer just joking around at first. Sometimes it's done on purpose because party A dislikes or has a big grudge against party B. Breakin' balls rarely ends in just hurt feelings. It ends with at least a fight, and at most someone's life ending. The scene in GoodFellas is a prime example. But The Sopranos has the longest run of breakin' balls incidents.

Now, breakin' balls can occur in our normal, non-mob affiliated lives. A person you don't care for starts giving you a hard time, insulting you at your expense. When that happens, it's best to be polite, put on a brave face and perhaps walk away.

If you ever hear someone use the term "breakin' balls", you might want to be on your toes.

Fat Tony and the Springfield mob

I haven't watched much of The Simpsons probably since 2000 or about the time Family Guy came on. The Simpsons became repetitive, and felt less relatable. But clips that come up on my YouTube recommendations has stirred up some renewed interest.

I love the mob in The Simpsons. They're parodied in ways that no other show can match, even Family Guy is no where on the same level. Fat Tony and crew are hilarious and represent so many characteristic stereotypes of TV/movie mob personalities. And ever since The Sopranos got big getting into the early 2000s, everywhere Fat Tony goes in a car, they cue the beginning theme song from The Sopranos. It's just excellent.

Frienamies

Frienamies

The Soprano/New Jersey crime family and the Lupertazzi/New York crime family.

They argue, debate, get things confused, don't see eye to eye, get angry, go off half-cocked, they question each others motives, they try to out-think the other side, they sabotage, they hurt or kill each other; they cooperate, they negotiate, they work together, they agree, they work things out, they keep the peace, they make mutual deals, they keep things reasonable, they co-exist.

The Sopranos - A Preliminary Analysis

I've never watched The Sopranos before until this month. I'm currently on the 3rd season, and I've watched bits on YouTube, so in some ways I've slightly spoiled myself on later details. But that's okay because I've managed to keep everything I've seen in perspective.

Tony Soprano is no Vito Corleone. Doesn't share the same life, the same timeline, the same manerisms, but his position and duties can be similar. He looks more like an average joe, which is so much easier to pull off in the 1990s. At times he can be quite an asshole, but he can be remarkably giving and demonstrates great restraint. He delegates and understands what is too far.

Though some chronic TV bingers may find the subject matter abrasive and extremely violent, the show didn't come without cleverness. This isn't a early 20th century Don wearing a "Don Fannuci" hat and suit that sticks out. This is a 40ish Italian descent man with a wife, two teenage kids, severe mother issues, anxiety and depression, struggles with therapy..........who happens to be a boss or the boss of a New Jersey crime family.

I could be wrong, but my impression is that there are more people hurt or "whacked" during the show's timeline than in all the Godfather movies combined. More restraint and trust in Vito's world? Maybe. It could be the fact that in the world of The Sopranos, there are a lot more investigative tools in the 1990s, including flipping members to get high ranking members on record about their crimes. But the organization has their own ways of figuring out who's being an informant. Plus there are lots people who don't agree with how Tony runs things, and people who run their mouths. Then there is Tony's mom, who a) conspired with Tony's uncle (fellow capo and Boss) to have Tony whacked, and b) fed Uncle Junior information that nearly had Tony whacked when that information was fueled by early onset dementia. Tony's mom is a completely negative person who transfers her bleak outlook on life onto her children and other associate people, then practically revels in their failures.

Though Uncle Junior nearly had Tony whacked, twice, he got his head on straight and realized that the information motivating removing Tony was absolutely false, and corrected his path. I like Uncle Junior, but Tony at times gives him little respect. But he knows he can get away with it because Uncle Jun knows Tony has the intelligence and balls to rule the family.

Those are my thoughts so far. More will be written as time goes by.

Casino - a mob house of cards

 ".....you said I'm bringing heat on YOU?
I gotta listen to people because of your fuckin shit? You're orderin me out? You better get your own fuckin army pal"



I like Goodfellas, but in many ways Casino is more approachable. Joe Pesci's character Nicky Santoro is ruthless, homicidal, and violence-happy. But he had a duality. He cared for his friends, family and possessed loyalty. You could see a dynamic personality that makes him engaging, and at many times quite humorous.

I read another review and it's way better written than I will write here. But I just want to address some points. This is more about thoughts than it is a review. Casino took the viewer on a voyage through the Casino business as if a reformed Wiseguy described the inner workings in a Discovery Channel documentary he is hosting. I doubt they'd do any better. The movie showed you that it was essentially running but needed a good manager to bring in more money to allow the "skim" to bring in more money, and showed how card by card, it got brought down. Greed, sex, violence, dysfunction, corruption, and addictions all played their part.

While the mob bosses far removed from the glittering lights work behind the scenes in corruption that makes them a lot of money, the county commissioners work on their own corruption when they don't get what they want.

We could go on all day describing in detail how Ginger brought the entire enterprise down. But the fact that it's a given that the casino operation was destroyed by a dysfunctional, addicted, emotionally scarred, hustling woman is not a stretch of the imagination. But it wasn't just her.

What makes the movie humorous is how the FBI got what they wanted when a mob Lieutenant complains too much and doesn't seem to know when to shut up. The crap he complains about aren't even his problem. They start from him not being reimbursed for his travel from Kansas City to Vegas. How hard is it to politely ask your boss, even if he is a mob boss, to get reimbursed for the travel expenses? It also illustrates that these wiseguys may be putting their faith in the wrong people simply because they toe the line in their organization. Piscano already demonstrated he needed a map, diagram and step by step instructions on doing the task of going to the casino and grabbing the skim money. How hard is that to do when you're in is being a bigger fish in the mob ocean? 

So the mob screws up with trusting a guy "who could fuck up a cup of coffee." But where they don't screw up is having people whacked when it comes down to the bosses possibly going to the slammer. They are a bit too good at this.

But fortunately Ace comes out okay. Almost got whacked but his car saved his life and that was the only time anyone was going to try. In a way, it's like the movie showed two paths: Ace, though a control freak, cares about people. His daughter and even Ginger and Nicky. That good nature allowed him to see the sun rise and fall after the house of cards came down. Nicky's ruthless and gutsy ambition led him to an early grave.