MY BLUE HEAVEN (1990) **1/2 If you had these actors to cast you would definitely have Steve Martin as the wise guy and Rick Moranis as a Federal Agent, right? I mean, no way Moranis could make it in the mob, so it was cast right. I'm a little surprised that Martin goes hair-on-end corner punk, he could also have been excellent as the don's elegant but not entirely bipedal brother-in-law. In any event the foundation works, not least because of the NYC/California contrast. The "heroes" do a fine job with good lines (courtesy of Nora Ephron) but never burst into artistic hyperspace, perhaps because so much attention was spent on the plot. I thought they had a chance when Steve glimpses Carol Kane in a supermarket, but they didn't give her quite enough lines to spring into "Latka and Simka land." Too bad. Lots of healthy baseball stuff on the periphery, Steve's variations on the subtle morality and obnoxious glories of ganglanders (particularly with William Hickey in the shot to endow credibility), good penis-envy portrayal of your average Fed who just wants to have fun by Moranis, and even a few shots of the Hotel del Coronado for landmark enthusiasts.
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