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Director Jim Abrahams delivers another funny flick to the "Naked Gun"-loving audience with "Mafia!," an absurd story about a father and son struggling to survive in a life of organized crime.
The movie features Jay Mohr as Anthony Cortino and Lloyd Bridges as Anthony's father, Vincenzo Cortino.
The film bombards the viewer with crude, and sometimes obscene parodies, along with fresh, witty humor.
Mocking the dramatic dialogue and realism of modern films, the movie exaggerates scenes from such blockbuster films as "Scarface," "The Godfather," "Goodfellas" and "Forrest Gump."
The film also mocks the Italian stereotypes prevalent in mobster movies by exaggerating these images to the point that the jokes themselves are the target of ridicule, not the ethnic group.
But the non-stop barrage of comedy soon desensitizes the funny bone of the viewer.
Unlike "Naked Gun" and "Hot Shots!," the film's humor is never punctuated by a serious dialogue or a suspenseful story. The antagonist mobsters out to get the Cortino family rarely appear on screen, and thus no tense conflict ever mounts between the characters.
Moreover, the story lacks focus and is hard to follow.
Especially confusing and annoying are the flashbacks to the Cortino family's life in the early 1900s in Italy and the United States. By switching back and forth from the past to the present, the film overburdens the viewer with details irrelevant to the present and prevents the story in the present from progressing.
Another snag in the movie is its enormous cast, whose time on screen often diverts the focus of the story: Anthony Cortino's struggles with fighting gangsters and romancing women.
And though most of the film's actors gave flat and interchangeable performances, two stars shined brightly.
Mohr performs with a reserved and dignified manner that gives a piercing contrast to his humorous lines and scenes.
And the now-deceased Lloyd Bridges gives a comic "Hot Shots!"-styled clumsiness to his character.