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The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 1/08, 8/25

PopeGreen
1/08: Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts in the same film?

Count me in! Unfortunately, The Pope of Greenwich Village is disappointing. I'll have to start with Eric Roberts. He overacts, but there's something special going on. This is the primary reason why I'll like to see the film again to render more appropriate judgment.

Mickey Rourke is nothing special, and he and Eric Roberts look Irish, not Italian. Daryl Hannah has a role but disappears like a virgin on prom night at some point. It'll be nice if she could...you know...contribute.

I hate the writing. It's so theatrical. What shocked me, of which I would learn afterwards, is the movie was meant to be a comedy. However, there's a strong performance, and it's given by Geraldine Page who plays the deceased dirty cop's mother. It's quite short, but more screen time for her would be advisable.

All in all, one's enjoyment of The Pope of Greenwich Village will depend entirely on Eric Roberts' performance.

8/25: I wanted to see The Pope of Greenwich Village to reevaluate Eric Roberts' performance and must say he was on another planet.

Mickey Rourke is okay but often looks fake for an Italian while Daryl Hannah is forgettable. An Oscar nomination was given to Geraldine Page for her extremely short performance, but I think she needed more screen time before earning it. The Academy also made a mistake by not bestowing it to Eric Roberts for Best Supporting Actor; he was pretty much mesmerizing.

There's a point in what Eric Roberts tried to do by painting Paulie as a totally dumb loser through overacting. It's risky but controlled. Charlie stuck with him through thick and thin not because he's family but a character. Paulie is actually not all that different from Robert De Niro's Johnny Boy from Mean Streets. The same is said for Mickey Rourke in the place of Harvey Keitel. Therefore, The Pope of Greenwich Village would be an ordinary crime picture had Eric Roberts not been cast.

Eric Roberts worked on his character, right down to the permed hair, for eight months by spending time in Little Italy but was asked by director Ron Maxwell to resign on the spot one day before the commencement of filming because he thought Eric Roberts was doing everything the wrong way. When Mickey Rourke found out about it, he had him fired and replaced with Stuart Rosenberg.

One big problem is the writing. It's more theatrical than not, giving me a hard time to stick with the film for a while in one sitting. The last thirty minutes needs a lot of work with the two principal characters going out with a bigger bang just like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Also, the story isn't fully there in terms of logic, especially when it comes to the dirty cop who died in the elevator shaft.

All in all, Eric Roberts gives a top two performance of his career in The Pope of Greenwich Village with the other being Star 80 that'll never be topped in any way, shape, or form.