Boss of Bosses (2001)

 

Please click the link to read my review of Donnie Brasco; this film takes place shortly after the events of that movie. 

Synopsis: Wise, compassionate and grandfatherly godfather gradually forgets that his colleagues are a bunch of violent sociopaths. 

Blurb From the DVD jacket: “Based on the true story of real-life Godfather Paul Castellano” 

What Did I Learn?: Threatening to give the other guy a knuckle sandwich can be an effective negotiating tactic. 

You Might Like This Movie If: you've always wondered what makes a Boss tick. 

Really?: 1) I realize it’s generally accepted - even by their wives - that gangsters are expected to have mistresses on the side, but bedding the family’s maid, and even bringing her on a trip to Florida struck me a bad idea for whole bunch of reasons. 2) Holy shit, why does Castellano exit his limousine moments after he’s been shot? Any rationally-thinking human being would play dead, not telegraph to his assassins that they need to pump more lead into his body. 3) So, why did Castellano and his wife drift apart? They’re clearly very much in love in the early sequences, and there isn’t much discussion or explanation for why they’re sleeping in separate bedrooms in the early 1980s. 

Rating: Boss of Bosses is a very humdrum made-for-TV gangster drama that features a pretty good performance from Chazz Palminteri and not much else. The biggest problem I had with Boss of Bosses is that it lionizes Castellano; he seems like a pretty nice guy, all things considered, and the audience never gets to see how power might have corrupted him over time. 6/10 stars. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205782/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1