Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The first must-see film of the year.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts are well matched in this nicely directed, acted, and written character study / drama. The characters they create are definitely memorable and the situations in which they find themselves are compelling. Scripted by Vincent Patrick from his own novel, it's simply fine storytelling that keeps its grip for two solid hours.Rourke plays Charlie, a regular Joe whose loyalty to his screw-up cousin Paulie (Roberts) gets him into all sorts of trouble. Paulies' schemes get Charlie fired from his job, and when Paulie draws Charlie into a plan to steal some money, he doesn't tell him from whom they're stealing. And that man is Bed Bug Eddie (Burt Young), a mafia boss who is understandably going to be more than a little angry.There are all sorts of interesting characters in this involving, heavily layered story, and the film has a hell of a phenomenal cast as well, full of incredibly good character actors. Among the many familiar faces are Kenneth McMillan (endearing as the third participant in the robbery), Tony Musante, M. Emmet Walsh, Jack Kehoe, Philip Bosco, Val Avery, Joe Grifasi, Tony DiBenedetto, John Finn, Ed O'Ross, Frank Vincent, Anna Levine, and William Duell. They're all entertaining to watch, but Geraldine Page is especially riveting as the mother of a corrupt detective. Her scenes are the best in the film.Roberts - who totally rocks a perm hairdo - really goes all out sometimes in his performance; one can't accuse this guy of phoning it in. Rourke, overall more restrained, is quite likable; Daryl Hannah isn't bad as Rourkes' frustrated girlfriend.Director Stuart Rosenberg ("Cool Hand Luke") has a great feel for the neighbourhood in his handling of the material. And Patrick injects some amusing comedy bits - such as Paulies' revenge against a portly parking patrol officer - into the story that provide some counterpoint to the drama. The denouement really is too abrupt, but on the whole this is a really enjoyable tale worth catching for fans of the performers and genre.Eight out of 10.

The Pope Of Greenwich Village is a film that absolutely I can't decide about. I love it for some of the acting, especially Eric Roberts as this hopelessly stupid schemer. But I'm not sure if the makers of this film intended it to be a comedy or a serious drama. It really falls somewhere in between and doesn't come up for air.I also cannot believe Mickey Rourke's character. He seems intelligent enough, but how he can get involved with this cousin who is not only beyond stupid, but a liar and a con artist to boot?This latest scheme that Roberts has is a real beauty. He's going to steal some money out of an easy to crack safe and bet it on a horse that he has a really good tip on. That's bad enough, but of course he doesn't tell his partners Kenneth McMillan and Rourke that not only does the money belong to the local Mafia head Burt Young. And it's to be used as police payoff money. So we've got crooks and crooked cops looking for the perpetrators.The main reason to see The Pope Of Greenwich Village is Roberts. Because you cannot believe how anyone can lie and cheat and doublecross people and have lived as far as he has. Geraldine Page as the mother of a cop killed accidentally (yes accidentally) during the robbery got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, but the film such as it is belongs to Eric Roberts.The film does have some nice location cinematography in Greenwich Village and Little Italy. This is not the Bohemian Village nor is it the Gay Mecca that it is now known for. This is the Greenwich Village that elected Carmine DiSapio, the last great boss of Tammany Hall as its Democratic leader. Little Italy has shrunk considerably, but it's still there.But after you watch it, mesmerized as you are by Roberts, you'll be scratching your head wondering just exactly what did you see?

Mickey Rourke is "The Pope of Greenwich Village" in this 1984 film also starring Eric Roberts, Geraldine Page, Kenneth McMillan, Darryl Hannah and Burt Young. Rourke is Charlie, who, with his cousin Paulie, rob a mobster with the help of a safecracker (McMillan). Both Rourke and Roberts are in fine form against the New York background. Everything about this film is seedy. The detectives all look out of shape and overtired, everybody has smoker's skin or a drinker's red nose. As Charlie, Rourke wants a big score so he can buy a restaurant, but his fatal flaw is listening to his idiotic cousin Paulie, a total loser and a weakling, who gets him involved in the robbery of a vicious mobster where a cop is killed at the scene. The attractive Rourke uses his sweet smile to good advantage and underplays; it's a shame he underwent such severe plastic surgery and took his career off track. Roberts plays Paulie as completely pathetic, so pathetic that at times, he's funny, even when his circumstances aren't.The mob movies were in their heyday when "The Pope of Greenwich Village" was made, so it probably got lost in the shuffle. It's not a big film, but the acting and locations are impressive. Look for Geraldine Page in a small but showy role as the dead cop's mother, a woman who can handle the police better than anyone.

The way to see this movie is the way I did. Other than Page or Kehoe I had no idea who any of these actors were. This imparts an authenticity in the character unfettered by the popularity of the actor playing him (or her). Since (and because of) this movie I look for movies with actors who are unfamiliar to me. I have seen much criticism of Eric Roberts on these pages but as far as I'm concerned he WAS Pauly. Love him or hate him, I can't imagine anyone better suited for that particular role. Pauly was a weasel and Roberts delivered a weasel. That pretty much goes right on down the line. the story flowed seamlessly from scene to scene and came together as one beautiful whole with a few minor exceptions. One of these exceptions being how upset Bedbug Eddie became when he learned of the tapes. It seem to me that the existence of these tapes would have been a MUCH bigger problem for the police than they would have been for him. They were TAKING the bribes. The other 'weakness', if you will was the ending. A little too Hollywood. They had just poisoned the most notorious dude in the Village and they are walking away arguing about how it should have been done instead of running for their lives. Only these few things kept this from being a perfect ten and I highly recommend it. Even if you DO know all of the actors.