Back in 1990, Martin Scorsese set a new standard for mobster films with “GoodFellas”. The characters were three-dimensional, yet cold-blooded and darkly hilarious. And following in that tradition came the highly acclaimed HBO series “The Sopranos” where brutality and humor go hand-in hand.
So, expectations run high for some real Cosa Nostra brilliance in the low budget drama “Mob Queen”. Two of the leading actors from “The Sopranos”- Tony Sirico and David Proval–are along for this twisted story of mob treachery butting heads with alternative lifestyles!
“Mob Queen” is set in Brooklyn in the late 1950’s where small-time Mafia thugs George (Proval) and Dip (Dan Moran) decide to bestow upon their boss, Joey “The Heart” Aorta (Sirico) the gift of a “date” with the newest prostitute on the block, Glorice (Candis Cayne). Their attempt at impressing Aorta exceeds their expectations when the tough guy falls in love with the gal from the wrong side of the tracks.
But then things start to go horribly wrong for our boys. Glorice turns out to be a man (a fact that he/she has neatly kept hidden from the lovestruck Aorta) and he (Glorice) has no intention of ending his game of charades with the Mafioso big wig.
Though made for peanuts, “Mob Queen” sparkles with sharp writing and directing. Cayne is great as the scheming transvestite and Proval and Sirico are as viciously amusing as ever. Nevermind all those big budget throwaways. “Mob Queen” is a film with an original twist on the New York Mafia genre.
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