You won't be disappointed!

Wonderful Movie

Best movie ever!

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

A brilliantly acted film. Infantile John Cassavetes is a low level gangster who finds he has a contract on his head. He enlists the help of best friend Peter Falk. What transpires is a night of truth-telling and betrayals that does not end well for either of them. Elaine May wrote & directed this tough-as-nails expose and it's as far from THE HEARTBREAK KID as it could be. Falk & Cassavetes excel and the outstanding supporting cast includes Ned Beatty, Sanford Meisner (the legendary acting teacher making a very rare movie appearance), Joyce Van Patten as Cassavetes extremely angry wife and, in a shocking role, Carol Grace (aka Carol Matthau). The expert cinematography is by credited to Victor J. Kemper but appears to have been worked on by a number of people. May reportedly shot more than a million feet of film, leading to a battle with Paramount Pictures over how best to assemble & release this. May's 119 minute version is astounding.

It all makes sense that Cassavetes' took Scorsese under his wing, and though Mean Streets came out a few years earlier, I think it owes a great deal to the Cassavetes' crew. In the same way that Keitel and DeNiro play out their tragic friendship on the streets of New York, the same dynamics exist between Cassavetes and Falk here, and maybe more poignantly. The back story of this film is ever so gradually revealed to the viewer, and along the way we get to both love and hate both lead characters. Falk is a good buddy in a classic buddy film, coming to the rescue of Cassavetes in need. But then we find out about the double cross, and Falk suddenly takes on a much more sinister persona. One of the appeals I believe the gangster film has is how the easy camaraderie between the gangsters can so easily melt down into a survival of the fittest contest, and the supposed "best friend" will generally be the guy to arrange or commit your murder. Mean Streets showed Keitel going leaps and bounds out of his way to protect DeNiro, in spite of his best self-preservation instincts. Falk walks the same line, as he becomes suspect by the contract killer and the bosses when what should be a simple hit becomes an all night event. Cassavetes also has a lot of that same crazy, cocksure bravado of DeNiro in Mean Streets, and we see how that tragic flaw in each of them cause their respective ends. They act like little kids, with a little manic depression thrown in to spice things up. Mikey calls out his buddy Nicky for insecurity issues, for always having to prove his manhood, his self-worth, often at the cost of hurting others who are equally crazy enough to love him. The charisma of each of these tragic characters in their respective films is unequaled by any other character in each one's film, and the level-headed Falk (and Keitel) are intoxicated in their own way by that charisma, so much so that they get themselves into a lot of hot water over it. How many of us have not known someone whose charisma, charm and extroverted personality, although troubled, has not swept us away completely, causing us to do or say things we would otherwise never do? But we can never be that person, if we just don't have it in us to be that way. Falk realizes it, and also realizes that those types of characters are generally consumed with too much self-love and not enough consideration for anybody else. That is one of the key elements in each film I think, that dichotomy between the charismatic extrovert who is essentially a selfish megalomaniac, and the caring, protective friend or brother, less outgoing and likely to behave erratically, compelled to be responsible for his brother living on the edge for the both of them. I believe the characters played by Keitel and Falk were both at one point addicted to their crazy friends, so much so that they got in too deep, no limit to what they would do for their pals, and when these nuts got themselves in too deep, stepped on too many toes, they had to step away and let these people deal with the consequences of their actions, no matter how brutal. I would agree with others that it is a Shakespearean dilemma, that need to protect and rescue, versus the need to stay out of harm's way. These ideas that are examined in this film make it incredibly important, timeless, and vital for anybody who values films that are able to portray actual human relationships in a way that is real and true to life, that we can all relate to and that allows us to learn about ourselves through. Mikey & Nicky is one of those films, and whether or not you are a fan of '70s cult mobster films, I believe there is a lot to be gained here regardless of that surface description.

This is a great starting point for those interested in the acting career of the great John Cassavetes. Although the film isn't directed by him it still contains a lot of the realistic characters, emotions, and soul-searching dialogue that made him gain such a following. The music's a little off beat, but that doesn't distract from a truly touching and original crime/drama story.

This is the movie that proves that you don't need script supervision, competent editing or a decent gaffer. All you need in order to make a great movie is well-drawn characters and great casting.Over the course of this film there are several awkward jump cuts, poor lighting, at least one instance of "jumping the line," inexplicable blackouts and a brief view of the sound guy in the hotel mirror when Falk and Cassavetes are supposed to be alone.But who cares? The whole cast is brilliant -- from Falk and Cassavetes to M. Emmett Walsh as a harassed bus driver, Ned Beatty as a sad-sack hitman and New York acting gurus Sanford Meisner and Bill Hickey (later so brilliant in PRIZZI'S HONOR) as the crime bosses -- and the relationship of the two central characters, childhood friends turned into gangsters and arriving at an eventual point of betrayal, is dead-on as old hurts surface and paranoia and anger are bound up with love.The women -- a mistress who puts on airs and two wives struggling to live normal lives with their petty criminal husbands -- also have excellent scenes to play. And there are dozens of excellent small roles. The candy store owner who keeps his hand on his gun, the jealous guy in the Black bar and the diner worker who refuses to give away creams unless Falk buys coffees to go with them all add small beautiful strokes to the overall canvas.The final moment -- Falk's scream of pain as Cassavetes is shot -- registers in a truly emotional way, free of the sentimentality that ends most such "buddie" pictures.