“Jersey Bred”

Rating: 8/10

Writer and Director: Greg Russo

Style: Crime/ Action / Drama

Time: 1 hour 31 minutes

Review by Mike Szymanski

Change in the mob game isn’t always a good thing.

When the gangsters like those from the days of “The Godfather” (and all the violence involved) get mixed up in online gambling and crypto-currency, some people can’t give up their old ways. They don’t understand the new changes very much, even though they talk, and swagger, and dress like they did in the old days.

When going to Costa Rica substitutes for family business in Sicily, and pencils and paper give way to computers, the old-style mobster scene buckles and some of the old goombas can’t take it.

Legalizing marijuana, legit real estate deals and clever and self-sufficient spouses are not the fodder of the usual mob movies we are used to, and that results in a lot of fun and surprises like in “Jersey Bred.”

It’s all there right from the beginning, and in a very subtle way. No, no, you can’t order a cafe latte in front of the big boss, but you get a cappuccino.

When Uncle Sal gets out of prison after a long stay, he’s taught how to use a voice-activated phone. “You just say ‘Call Joey,’ “ he is told.

Then Alexa rattles off: “Joey Pizza, Joey the Plumber, Joey the Greek, Joey Meatballs …”

It’s all rather funny with a very serious backdrop.

Everything centers around Vincent, played by Chris Tardio, a character actor who we know from a slew of tough guys including a recurring role in “The Sopranos” as well as in “Daredevil,” “Ray Donovan,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” “NYPD Blue,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” “Vegas,” “Blue Bloods,” “Justified” and dozens of other shows, movies and video games.

Vincent is bringing his computer prowess to turn the family mob operation into a profitable gambling business based in Costa Rico. He is a step ahead all the time of two FBI agents (played by Christopher Mormando and Kelly-Ann Tursi) who can’t seem to get the goods on him.

At first, Vincent is shown as a younger teen in a crime that gets his father killed in the opening scene. The guy accompanying his father is Anthony, who goes to jail when young Vincent takes off after seeing his father die.

Anthony is played with delicious relish by actor Lorenzo Antonucci. He exudes evil and makes people shudder when he enters a room. A one-time wrestler, Antonucci really shows his acting chops in this great role playing a character everyone loves to hate and is scared of offending.

The true star of this movie, however, is handsome Gianni Russo, playing a character with the same first name. I’ve researched, and I hope he is related to the writer and director, but I couldn’t find out more about him. I knew the name of Gianni Russo as a classic character actor who was in “The Godfather 1 and 2,” “The Freshman” and “Meet the Mobsters.”

But this Gianni Russo is a young kid, probably late teens, who plays a pivotal role in the movie, and is credited as “introducing Gianni Russo” which means it’s his first film. He’s an actor with a lot of heart and he’s very cute in a charming, not overbearing, way. His character suffers some major emotional turmoil and the young actor handles it well. I think we will be seeing a lot more of this young actor’s talent in things other than mobster movies in the future.

The movie is shot with sweeping aerial drone shots of well-known New Jersey landmarks. But, the director purposefully avoids and rejects sentimentality between the characters.

The guys wear the requisite golden chains and even a large cross that one of the characters wears and it is wired by the feds.

Albert is out for a bit of revenge, but it’s not a revenge film really. It’s more of a look at mob loyalty and change.

From the first “fang-gu” to the requisite strip club scene, we know this is a film of many genres.

“One hand washes the other and they both wash the face,” one of their members says about their loyalty with each other.

A big drawback is that there are too many characters and you’re not ever sure who is allied with whom before some someone gets whacked. Sometimes the monologues and the intro to the movie are so dense with explanation and dialogue takes away from the movie.

This is like an updated version of the comedic and prophetic film “Goodfellas.”

Russo, the director, said his movie will bring the world to modern days.

“As a fan of the mob genre I felt it was time to showcase it in a different light,” Russo says. “I felt it was important to bring the genre into the 21st century by incorporating online gambling, weed legalization, and the crypto space.”

He added: “Ultimately I think I accomplished this with ‘Jersey Bred’ while still holding true to the old school mafia tactics throughout the film. “
 
 ###