In this outrageous comedy, a group of ex-mobsters living in the Raj Mahal senior-citizen residence in South Beach, Miami are facing eviction. The residency wants a different type of senior--one who can afford to pay more--and this wild group of pals won't have it. Bobby (Richard Dreyfuss), Joey (Burt Reynolds), Mike (Dan Hedaya), and Tony (Seymour Cassel), devise a plan to strike back against their landlords, leading to a funny, frenzied string of events.
For a quartet of former wiseguys and lifelong friends, retirement is a degrading bore. Joey "Bats" (Burt Reynolds) is stuck working at Burger King, Bobby (Richard Dreyfuss) spends his time scouring Miami for his long-lost daughter, Tony (Seymour Cassel) is all washed up as a ladies' man, and Mike "The Brick" (Dan Hedaya) relives the glory days by sending Christmas cards to the old gang. It seems like old times when the boys run a little scam to protect their South Beach hotel from a yuppie invasion. Unfortunately, they run afoul of a drug kingpin in the process, and he soon comes looking for revenge. The result is a farcical entertainment, but also a case for the dignity and ability of the aged. Director Michael Dinner mines comedy from every vein--the mafia, old age, Jews and Hispanics--but relies on his four great, veteran principals to provide the best laughs and the pathos, as well. Bobby's personal story is the most fleshed-out, and Dreyfuss keeps the action moving, delivering the wry voiceover he perfected in STAND BY ME.
Theatrical release: August 25, 2000
Filmed on location in Miami, Florida.
References to other mafia films abound in THE CREW, but especially to GOODFELLAS. In a flashback to 1968, the crew pulls off a heist from Lufthansa (as do the goodfellas), and a long tracking shot of the four men going in through the kitchen of a restaurant is a visual reference to a much-imitated scene from Scorcese's movie.
Director Michael Dinner knows his geriatric subject matter well: he wrote 104 scripts for the sitcom THE GOLDEN GIRLS.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Letterboxed - Anamorphic - 1.85:1
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Featurettes
"Action Overload"
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Text/ Photo Galleries:
Biographies - Cast
Distributor Notes: The Crew
Loaded with laughs, THE CREW features Academy Award(R)-winner Richard Dreyfuss (MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS) and Burt Reynolds (MYSTERY, ALASKA) in a sidesplitting story about a set of golden-year goodfellas fighting to protect their last piece of turf! Back in the days when mobsters were larger than life, none lived bigger than Bobby (Dreyfuss), "Bats" (Reynolds), "The Brick" (Dan Hedaya, SHAFT), and "Mouth" (Seymour Cassel, RUSHMORE). But now well into retirement, the old crew find themselves suddenly facing eviction from their run-down Miami Beach hotel -- The Raj Mahal. That's when they decide there's only one thing left to do -- turn back the clock and pull one last hit in order to save their home! As their wacky plot unfolds, you'll happily laugh along when these grandfatherly gangsters set off a hilarious chain of events that quickly spins outrageously out of control.
Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Director of Photography
Juan Ruiz-Anchia:
Production Designer
Peter Larkin: Production Designer
Review 1:
"...Rewarding..."
Source: USA Today
p.5E 08/25/2000
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