Made is a 2001 film written and directed by Jon
Favreau. It stars Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Peter
Falk, and Sean Combs.
Synopsis
Struggling to make ends meet, Bobby agrees to enter the bottom rung of the local mob and perform a job in New York. His
partner in crime is his best friend Ricky, an obnoxious loudmouth who has seen one too many mafia movies. Bobby tries to keep it
cool and get the job done, but Ricky's antics threaten to blow the entire operation.
Plot
Bobby has ties to the local mafia boss, Max, but works as an honest mason for Max's construction projects. He fights in
amateur boxing matches on the side, but his career is lackluster. Struggling to support his stripper girlfriend Jessica and her
daughter Chloe, Bobby decides to do a mafia job for Max. Against his better judgment, he brings his ne'er-do-well friend Ricky
along.
Bobby and Ricky go to New York to act as Max's representatives for a money laundering
deal with his east coast partner, Ruiz. They meet Jimmy, who will be their driver, and Horrace, who is connected to both Max and
Ruiz. Ricky and Bobby squabble throughout their trip as Ricky tries to live large while Bobby wants to keep cautious. Ruiz has a
low opinion of the pair, but sends them off to show the Welshman a good time. Gaffing several times along the way, the pair
eventually manages to arrange a deal between Ruiz and the Welshman's Westie contacts.
Ricky grows suspicious of Ruiz and insists that they bring a gun to their meeting with the Westies. Bobby adamantly refuses.
On the day of the meet, Ricky has disappeared, but Jimmy insists that Bobby carry on with the meeting. As Bobby begins to grow
suspicious himself, he meets with the Welshman and the Westies. The Westies doublecross Bobby and the Welshman, but Ricky arrives
from a side entrance with a gun. A Westie recognizes Ricky's weapon as a starter pistol
and a fight breaks out. Jimmy arrives with a real pistol and sends the boys away while he deals with the Westies.
Back in Los Angeles, Bobby severs all business ties with Max. Arriving home, he discovers Jessica in bed with a client and
snorting cocaine. He takes custody of Chloe and leaves. Some time later, Bobby and Ricky celebrate Chloe's birthday at
Chuck E. Cheese's, bickering like an old married couple.
Cast
- Jon Favreau as Bobby Ricigliano. Though Bobby has ties to the mob, he
tries to lead a normal life as a mason and aspiring boxer. He is cautious and mild-mannered, but is also prone to losing his
temper.
- Vince Vaughn as Ricky Slade. A loud, obnoxious, and arrogant loser, Ricky
has known Bobby since high school. He got expelled from school for protecting Bobby after a stunt. Ever since, Bobby has tried to
help him out in any way he can, though Ricky always finds a way to mess things up.
- Famke Janssen as Jessica. A stripper with a child, Jessica is not as
committed to her domestic and familial responsibilities as her boyfriend Bobby.
- Peter Falk as Max. An elderly mafioso, Max is indebted to Bobby and
supports him with work in his shady businesses. He cannot tolerate Ricky, but employs him as well at the insistence of
Bobby.
- Sean Combs as Ruiz. A powerful underworld boss and mogul in New York, Ruiz
has style, wealth, and a very low opinion of Bobby and Ricky.
- Faizon Love as Horrace. A go-between in the crime dealings of Max and
Ruiz, Horrace divides his time between Los Angeles and New York.
- Vincent Pastore as Jimmy. Bobby's and Ricky's driver in New York,
Jimmy plays it cool with the boys from L.A. until their mistakes finally catch up with them.
- David O'Hara as The Welshman. A British criminal who protects his
identity, the Welshman is interested in making a deal with Max and Ruiz.
- Makenzie Vega as Chloe. Jessica's daughter from a previous relationship,
Chloe is largely neglected by her mother and is much more fond of Bobby.
Movie connections
Because the film is written by Jon Favreau and stars Favreau and Vince Vaughn, it is commonly seen as a follow-up to
Swingers. The license plate of Jimmy's Limo, "DBLDN11", is a reference to a
blackjack strategy articulated in Swingers that one should "always double down on an 11."
During Dustin Diamond's cameo, Ricky refers to him as "Screech", referencing Diamond's character on Saved By the
Bell.
Reception
The critical reception of the film was mildly positive, receiving a 67% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[1] The film received a limited release in America and had almost no release overseas. It
had a world box office gross of $5.3 million,[2] slightly lower than Swingers. Overall it was not as successful or as culturally
influential as Swingers in spite of the increase in budget and star power.
Trivia
- Made is noted for having many uses of the
word "fuck": the word is used a total of 291 times. In fact, Made has one of the highest "fuck-per-minute" (FPM) ratio of
any feature-length film: 3.1.
- Jon Favreau's interest in writing a screenplay for a mafia movie is featured as a plot device in an episode of The Sopranos that aired several
months prior to the release of Made. It is interesting to note that three members of the Made cast
(Vincent Pastore, Federico Castelluccio,
and Drea de Matteo) were regular cast members of the series at the time of the film's
production. All three of these actors appeared in the episode in question, although none appeared on screen at the same as
Favreau.
- Tom Morello, most commonly known as the guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, makes a short
cameo in the film as "Best Man." Adult actress Jenteal also has a small cameo in the same scene
as a stripper named Wendy.
- The high school football coach Favreau and Vaughn receive advice from early on in the film is Vaughn's dad, Vernon
Vaughn.
- The old woman leading a pack of school children through the zoo is Jon Favreau's grandmother, Joan Favreau.
- The DVD was released in a 2-Disc Set with Swingers called The Money
Collection. The collection's title is a pun on the mafia dealings in Made and the slang term "money" in
Swingers.
References
- ^ Made (2001). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
- ^ MADE. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
External links
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