Friday, July 11, 2014

In Character: Chazz Palminteri

Chazz Palminteri is one of the most entertaining badasses of modern cinema. He’s made a career out of playing hardened wiseguys and shifty cops. Heightened by his thick Bronx accent and natural Italian swagger, rarely does an actor make the art of breaking bad look so good. I’ve seen most everything he’s done, and I cannot recall a cheap or phoned-in performance. Man is the real deal, and I can never get enough.

Five Essential Roles
A Bronx Tale (1993)
Sonny
In 1990, Chazz Palminteri premiered his play, “A Bronx Tale,” in Los Angeles to rave reviews. The play was an autobiographical account of Palminteri’s upbringing, and, perhaps most impressively, it starred Palminteri and only Palminteri. When he moved the show to Broadway, Robert De Niro caught a performance, and soon approached Palminteri about turning the play into a film. Palminteri agreed, but only if he could write the script and star as mafia boss, Sonny. They shook hands, and a few years later, they delivered A Bronx Tale, one of the best, if not criminally overlooked, mob films of the ‘90s.

Watching A Bronx Tale, it is so obvious how personally invested Palminteri was in the project. Honestly, there isn’t a shred of Chazz Palminteri to be found in the performance. This is all Sonny, and every frame of it is brilliant. Sonny is a premiere goodfella: ruthless and charming; hot-tempered and well mannered. Sonny lives by the mantra that it is better to be feared than loved. It’s a notion that fuels the character, in all his charisma and dread. Palminteri is simply magnetic as Sonny – you can’t take your eyes off him if you tried.

The Usual Suspects (1995)
Dave Kujan
Dave Kujan is a guy with a grudge. As a Special Agent for U.S. Customs, Kujan is pissed that a crooked ex-cop named Dean Keaton has apparently gone clean, having gotten away with his prior crimes. Kujan is pissed and demands answers. Those answers come in the form of a long story told by Verbal Kint. For most of Verbal’s tale, Kujan sits in his friend’s office and listens intently. Occasionally, he calls bullshit and ignites the office with a fury of oral intimidations. In one of the film’s most thrilling moments, Kujan deduces Verbal’s life to a cheap piece of paper, which causes Verbal to tremble with fear. It’s a complex monologue, packed with tongue twisters and delivered at razor sharp speed. The confidence of Palminteri’s delivery of that speech gets me every time. For a moment there, we think Kujan is actually in charge. If only for a moment.

Mulholland Falls (1996)
Elleroy Coolidge
Comic relief in an otherwise serious film is a tough thing to pull off. At its worst, it plays as stale and lazy. But if done properly, comic relief can prove to be essential. Such is how I describe Chazz Palminteri’s work in Mulholland Falls. The film is a 1950s Los Angeles whodunit, in which four rough and tough detectives try to solve the brutal murder of a young woman. The cops are big and burly men; they smoke, curse, bruise and kill. They say little and rarely explain themselves, except when one of their own, Elleroy Coolidge, asks them to. For the past for weeks, Detective Coolidge has been seeing a psychiatrist to help combat his hot temper. After a few sessions, Coolidge likens himself to a young Freud, always with new, hilariously profound insight to offer.  Mulholland Falls is a decent film, but it is such a delight to watch Nick Nolte, Michael Madsen and Chris Penn listen to Chazz Palminteri spout psychobabble nonsense throughout the entire film. Without Palminteri’s humor, Mulholland Falls wouldn’t nearly be as good as it is.

Hurlyburly (1998)
Phil
“So this broad is always here?! What is she, a chair?! She got the TV on, she got the stereo on, what are you workin’ for, the electric company?”
Poor Phil. The tough old bastard just can’t catch a break. A struggling actor with a short fuse, Phil is always on edge and completely unpredictable. You never know if he’s going to rage or smile, punch or laugh. Palminteri spends most of the Hollywood-insider dramedy, Hurlyburly, slinging insults at his on-screen friends, pushing women out of cars, and berating a young Anna Paquin with doozies like the one I quoted above. Hurlyburly is based on a play and, for most the picture, the actors are forced to deliver lines a mile a minute. But no one involved (including Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, and Garry Shandling) are able to spit as much vile as Palminteri. Phil is surely one of the best examples of Palminteri in full command his foreboding presence.

Analyze This (1999)
Primo Sidone
One of my favorite scenes of Palminteri’s career is when he grows increasingly enraged by Billy Crystal’s attempt to psychoanalyze him in Analyze This. Toward the end of the film, Crystal’s character, Ben Sobel, is forced to pretend he’s the consigliere to Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) in front of, seemingly, the entirety of the American mafia. Vitti’s arch enemy, Primo Sidone, isn’t having it, so he presses Sobel to explain who he is. As a reflex, Sobel begins asking Primo questions about himself, which results in Chazz Palminteri going off on a frenzy. Palminteri is obviously a master of playing wiseguys, and Primo Sidone is one of the best, most entertaining villains he’s played yet.

The Best of the Best
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Cheech
This is honestly one of the hardest calls I’ve made for an In Character post. Chazz Palminteri is perfect in A Bronx Tale. Flawless, even. After rewacthing it recently, I was more than ready to hail Sonny as his best work. But then I had the urge to rewatch Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway, and within minutes, I realized that Palminteri’s confident and hilarious turn as Cheech is the best acting he’s ever done. It’s a standout performance in a film full of them; the kind of work you want to watch again, as soon as the film is over.

As an enforcer for a powerful mafia boss, Cheech is dismayed when he’s ordered to protect the boss’ woman, a no-talent actress named Olive (Jennifer Tilly), while she rehearses for a Broadway play. Shortly into rehearsals, Cheech does not like what he hears. He thinks the writing is bullshit, and the acting even worse. So, being the Type-A mafioso that he is, Cheech voices his opinions, much to the chagrin of the play’s creator, David (John Cusack). But then a funny thing happens: everyone realizes that Cheech’s proposed changes are brilliant. David starts to incorporate them into the material, and the play takes off.

What makes Cheech so great is the way Palminteri plays him straight. He never goes for the joke, instead letting Woody Allen’s writing do its job. There’s also a confident acceptance to Cheech that makes him so goddamn charming. For example, every time David compliments Cheech’s ideas, Cheech shrugs and says something to the effect of, “Yeah, I know, it’s good.” He’s not cocky, because wiseguys like Cheech don’t have to be cocky. He’s the man, and he knows it. Same could be said for the actor playing him, certainly.

Other Notable Roles
As Benny “Did you grab my ass?!” Zadir in A Night at the Roxbury
Oscar (1991)
Innocent Blood (1992)
Jade (1995)
Diabolique (1996)
Faithful (1996)
Stuart Little (1999)
A Night at the Roxbury (1998)
Down to Earth (2001)
Poolhall Junkies (2002)
Noel (2004)
Kojak (2005)
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
Running Scared (2006)
The Dukes (2007)
Yonkers Joe (2008)
Jolene (2008)
Modern Family (2010-2014)
Rizzoli & Isles (2010-2014)
Mighty Fine (2012)

27 comments:

  1. Oh, he was hilarious in Bullets Over Broadway.

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    1. No doubt! The scene when he's running lines with Tilly might be my favorite.

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  2. Truly underrated actor! I caught A Bronx Tale on TV the other day, it was quite good, I had absolutely no idea that Palminteri wrote the play though. Like you, my favourite performance of his is as Cheech in Bullets over Broadway. I think it's one of Woody's most underappreciated films. Dianne Wiest and Jennifer Tilly are also spectacular in it, especially Wiest.

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    1. So glad you agree on his BoB performance. His work in that film is so damn special. As is Tilly's and Wiest's, for sure. Glad you were able to see A Bronx Tale. I really love that movie. Chazz is sensational in it.

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  3. I love that you highlight these great actors with little true fame. Great character actor. His Oscar nom was so deserved.

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    1. Thanks buddy, really appreciate you reading and commenting. So glad he earned a nom for his work in that film.

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  4. Oh, this guy is the best! He is so memorable. And even though he kinda looks like he could stick to playing these mob guys, he just has some...I don't know, sensitivity, maturity to him? Kinda like his character in Bullets over Broadway. Love that it's your top choice, it's such a brilliant movie.

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    1. So happy you agree with my top pick! I agree, it's hard to pin down, but Chazz has a quality to him - a sensitivity, as you said - that makes him so interesting. Mob guys are a dime a dozen, but he's able to elevate his characters.

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  5. Bullets Over Broadway is his best performance. A mob-guy who is much smarter and more creative than everyone else around him as it's definitely one of the great characters that Allen has created.

    I love Chazz Palminteri. He can do the mob thing and make it so much more. I loved that line he gave in Analyze This where he wants to go see a movie as he complains about how violent movies are as he gets enough of that at work.

    One film that he's in that I love though I'm sure many will disagree with me is Oscar. It is an extremely silly film but I enjoyed the hell out of it. One of those reasons is Palminteri as one of Sly's boys as he is the most dim-witted guy of the gang but so loveable. He carries a lot of weapons and tries to figure out what is going on. He asks Sly "please Boss, let me stay, I lose track of what is happening around here". He's a buffoon but a loveable buffoon.

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    1. I loved him in "Oscar", too. Saw it in the theatre when it came out--silly pic--but he stuck in my mind and then blew me away shortly later in "A Bronx Tale".

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    2. void: Awesome man, so happy you think BoB is his best. Love him in that. I love that bit in Analyze That as well. He's really quite priceless in that film.

      void & Dawn: you know, I haven't seen Oscar since I was a kid, and don't recall Chazz's work in it. I know it's a silly film, but hey, we're all allowed to watch silly films. I want to check it out again now.

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  6. I love Chazz. He is such a wonderful actor. I'd probably go with A Bronx Tale as my best of the best. Hard to go wrong with any of his performances, really.

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    1. Yeah, it really is. Like I said, this one was definitely a tough call. So happy to hear you're a fan of his work.

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  7. He's great in Bullets over Broadway, but the performance that stands out to me is his part in A Bronx Tale. I really like that film, and he's one of the main reasons. I wish there were more roles on this level for him.

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    1. Oh, me too. He's so perfect in that movie and watching it again, it makes me long for more Chazz-led films.

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  8. I haven't seen a lot of his films, but the ones I have, he's always left an impression. I should probably watch A Bronx Tale.

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    1. Such a good flick. I'm still surprised it never found a wider audience. I suppose it was lost among the scope of GoodFellas and the glitz of Casino.

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  9. Chazz Palminteri is a gift, plain and simple. He has an amazing presence both on and off screen. His size is quite intimidating-6'3" at least--but also possesses a gentleness that equals his strength. Your picks tell it all...violence, humor, drama...he does it all with expertise. Probably the only person who can enter a room with DeNiro and leave people confused as to which man they should be paying attention to. "A Bronx Tale" is my favorite for the writing and story behind it but I'm with you that "Bullets Over Broadway" was Chazz's best performance.

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    1. LOVE what you said about not knowing who to pay attention to: De Niro or Chazz. That's so, so true. Which is one reason why A Bronx Tale is so compelling. I agree, A Bronx Tale is my favorite film on this post, but BoB contains his best work. A tough call.

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    2. Well, The Usual Suspects might be my favorite film here. Again, tough call.

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    3. "The Usual Suspects" is one of my favorites, period. It's a tough list and a hell of a talented man.

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  10. It's always cool to see Chazz pop up in a film. He was great in "The Usual Suspects". I remember for a while I thought "A Night at the Roxbury" was actually funny when it turned out that I was really just laughing at the "Did you grab my ass" scene.

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    1. Ha, so true what you said about Roxbury. That's a film I loved when I was like 12. But now...

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  11. It's amazing how many character actors there are. Every time you do a new post I think you've already done that person. :)

    Love this guy! I can't argue with Bullets at the top. I might include his performance in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, but I still need to see A Bronx Tale, Hurlyburly and Mulholland Falls.

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    1. For a second, I actually thought I had covered him already too. Ha. I think you'd really appreciate A Bronx Tale. Very well crafted film, with some genuine humor laced in as well.

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  12. Oh Cheech. What an incredible creation, writer and actor singing in perfect harmony. I always thought being a writer himself, Palminteri must have just got such a kick out of that playing part.

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    1. Oh I agree - that character is such a fun role, and I bet the writer in Chazz absolutely adored him.

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