Jane Austen's Mafia! (also known as simply Mafia!) is a 1998 American comedy film directed by Jim Abrahams.
The film follows Tony Cortino (Jay Mohr), the son of mafia king Vincenzo Cortino (Lloyd Bridges), who takes over when his father is dying.
The movie also stars Olympia Dukakis, Christina Applegate, Billy Burke, Pamela Gidley, Louis Mandylor, and Jason Fuchs.
It was released on July 24, 1998.
Tropes for the film:
- Accidental Dance Craze: When Vincenzo Cortino gets shot by a pair of assassins he moves around trying to get people to help me so he can have his gunshot wounds treated, but the crowd thinks he's dancing so they join in, then the assassins shot him some more causing him to appear to be doing different dance styles including the Charleston, Swing, and the Macarena.
- Affectionate Parody: Of Italian-American mafioso gangster films, particularly, The Godfather, GoodFellas and Casino, although it also parodies non-Mafia films such as Forrest Gump and The English Patient.
- Breast Expansion: Vincenzo makes a wish under a falling star in one of the flashback scenes. His new girlfriend's expand (apparently without her noticing).
- Composite Character: Anthony's brother, Joey Cortino is one of Sonny and Fredo Corleone from The Godfather.
- The Door Slams You: When Vincenzo gets a job promotion he happily rushes home to tell his family the good news, as he opens the door he accidentally squishes his son Tiny Anthony, comically flattening him.
- Enfant Terrible: Parodied with Chucky, a psychotic little boy who is a parody of Chucky from Child's Play; he murders his grandfather with bug spray so that he can steal his wallet and his father can become the new godfather, he is later seen torturing animals and stabbing dolls, and he gets his comeuppance when he receives a package of tiny dinosaurs which eat him alive.
- External Combustion: Parodied when Vincent is in the car when this happens. He survives, but loses most of his skin in the accident (leading to a major
Squick moment when he eats a tangerine, leading to a multiple Vomit Indiscretion Shot). By the time he meets up with his wife again, he only has a small bandage on his cheek. When he is asked what happened, he replies, ''car exploded''. - Farts on Fire: Sophia (Vincenzo's mom) kills Pepper by lighting her fart. The result was catastrophic.
This montage also has an Inuit impaling a guy in a Barney costume then dancing to the Goldman Girls' rendition of "We Are Family". - Flair Bartending: Parodied when a priest mixes an Umbrella Drink for a distraught Joey. ("Friar bartending", get it?)
- Gasshole: Sophia (Vincenzo's mom) has a habit of loudly farting in public. This has been a habit of hers even back when she was a young woman. It's even how Vincenzo recognized her after being separated from her for many years and it's how she assassinates Pepper towards the end of the film.
- In Case You Forgot Who Wrote It: Parodied; the film has obviously nothing at all to do with regency-era novelist Jane Austen. This was a reference to how, at the time the film was made, there were a lot of film and TV adaptations of Austen's and the Brontë sisters' works that were using the formula (e.g., Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice).
- In One Ear, Out The Other: While Pepper is coming on to an angry Joey she seductively leans in close and sticks her very long tongue into his left ear and out his right ear.
- Luke, You Are My Father: Parodied when a woman meets a young boy at a party.Diane: So, what's your name?
Boy: Diane.
Diane: Like me!
Anthony: I named him after his mother.
Diane: I'm a mother? Why didn't you tell me?
Anthony: You said you didn't want to be a part of my life.
Diane: Oh! Anthony, he's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! He looks just like me! - Spinning Paper: Spoofed; one headline shown in this manner is "Spinning Paper Appears Over Cathedral."
- Translation Matchmaking: A weird example. In Spain, this film was named Mafia, estafa como puedas ("Mafia, Con [someone] The Way You Can"), following Airplane! being renamed Aterriza como puedas ("Land as you can"), apparently because Lloyd Bridges, who was on Airplane!, also appears in this film. The weird part comes when one considers that this snowclone title is mostly used for Leslie Nielsen films (The Naked Gun became Agárralo como puedas ("Catch [him] the way you can"), Spy Hard was Espia como puedas ("Spy as you can"), etc.).
