Pun Salad

This comedy/drama, directed and co-written by Sidney Lumet, was a box office flop, but I found it very enjoyable.

Vin Diesel—with hair!—plays gangster Giacomo "Jackie" DiNorscio, part of the Lucchese crime family. He's swept up in a mass RICO indictment and becomes one of the 20 defendants in what turns out to be the longest criminal trial in the federal courts, almost two years. DiNorscio is kind of a loose cannon. He fires his ineffectual attorney, and, rejecting plea deals, decides to represent himself.

The movie turns the gangsters into the "good guys" by showing their loyalty and camaraderie, persecuted by an ambitious, scruple-free prosecution given to anti-Italian slurs. The gangsters' nefarious deeds aren't hardly shown, just talked about by the sleazy self-righteous prosecutors. Lumet's deck-stacking is blatant, but effective.

Vin Diesel is kind of a marvel here, if you're used to his borderline antihero/thug roles: he's actually funny in the comedic parts of the movie, and effective in the dramatic bits. The late Ron Silver is great as the trial judge. Also impressive is the 4' 5" Peter Dinklage as one of the defense attorneys, whose chemistry with the 6' Diesel is fun to watch.