IS MY BLUE HEAVEN THE SEQUEL TO GOODFELLAS WE'VE ALL WAITED FOR?

 A bizzaro-world comedic quasi-sequel to Goodfellas, based VERY loosely on real life events. Written by Nora Ephron (married to Nicholas Pileggi, writer of Wiseguys, which Goodfellas is based on. She wrote the screenplays for When Harry Met Sally..., Michael, Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail among others), My Blue Heaven really is connected to Goodfellas in odd ways. 

The film follows Vinnie Antonelli (A stand-in for the real life Henry Hill, played by Steve Martin), a mobster turned rat now under Witness Protection. Vinnie has been relocated to the suburbs as he awaits his testimony. CIA underling Barney Coopersmith (Rick Moranis) is assigned the unenviable job of watching over Vinnie. Barney fumbles with his task as Vinnie seems dedicated to breaking laws, causing trouble, and reverting to his criminal ways common sense be damned.

Steve Martin is playing a complete caricature with a grating, painfully fake New York accent. He's meant to be a lovable trickster, but comes across as more of an asshole most of the time. Rick Moranis does well in the straight-man role. Both actors work well off each other, and they make for an ok pair (The few dance scenes they have are highlights).

The big problems with My Blue Heaven are: It isn't structured particularly well, there isn't a solid plot, and the comedy isn't strong. Vinnie testifies before we reach the hour mark, leaving the last 40 minutes or so to fumble around and try and find a proper ending. It feels like Ephron had a concept for a movie that sounded funny, but didn't have all the specifics planned out. It seems like we should be building to Vinnie testifying, but that's not the case (To say what we ARE building to would be a spoiler, but I will say it's disappointing) . It feels like the big threat should be the mobsters out for Vinnie's head, but it's actually Vinnie's stubborn ways.

My Blue Heaven is a fundamentally flawed film. It's also fairly harmless, and entertaining enough at moments. If you're looking for an odd, different film...I suppose My Blue Heaven fits the bill.

2 STARS