Getting Gotti (1994)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Lorraine Bracco is brilliant in her performance as Diane Giacalone, the New York Assistant Attorney who gets on the case of the Mafia boss, John Gotti.She rails against the romanticization of the Mafia's image in movies and fiction, furious at the portrayal of godfathers and that Italy, who gave the world Michaelangelo, Verdi, Puccini and da Vinci now has to bear the responsibility of these useless criminal half-wits who can't earn a living without hitting people.Anthony John Denison is also good as the thug Gotti, and Ellen Burstyn is great as her ill mother. The entire cast is outstanding in this fact based drama which outlines the battle between Giacalone and Gotti.The only weakness is the portrayal of an out of control court with the noticeable lack of objections to the noise and contempt shown by a passive judge.And the ending. Weak.Worth seeing.6 out of 10.

Although one does not have to know the entire history of the mafia and its godfathers to enjoy this film, it portrays a quasi-fictional episode in the life of one of its leaders, John Gotti, played by Anthony John Denison. I thought he was quite good, and styled to resemble the man effectively. The supporting characters, (many who have taken on roles in television's long- running blockbuster, "The Sopranos"), all lend credence to the episodic pursuit by one female prosecutor, Diane Giacalone,(Lorraine Bracco). It builds on many well-known criminal figures, particularly, Sammy, "The Bull", Gravano's turncoat testimony. This is not a documentary, per se, but an outsider's view of what the real female prosecutor, Diane Giacalone, must have experienced in her quest. There are updates in the closing credits, but none late enough to eulogize Gott's final demise from cancer, while incarcerated.

This is really the dumbest, most offensive Canadian made for tv feeling piece of garbage I have seen in a long time. I seriously wonder how anyone was sucked into this. Anthony John Denison is a real actor, which he proved during Crime Story. Here, he is lost in some kind of schlock that came out in the same year as The Bell Curve, and it shows. Racist, offensive, ignorant of boardroom culture or police procedure, filled with error. James Henerson should be immolated on a pile of his own manuscripts. Fortunately, "Getting Gotti" (1994), was followed in 1996 by another tv movie, "Gotti", with Armand Assante, which avoids most of the pitfalls of this atrocity, if you need your fill with mob drama, see Donnie Brasco, it's tv series "Falcone", or even The Godfather I and II if you're feeling nostalgic.Avoid like the plague.

The biggest problem I saw with this made for television movie about John Gotti, is that Anthony John Denison looks nothing like him. I saw a guy on a Tropicana commercial who looked more like Gotti, than he did. If you're going to make any movie about a high profile figure, please, choose an actor who looks the part, not just has a big name. For example, if you were to choose between John Vernon, and Luke Perry for the role of Herrmann Goering,...isn't the choice obvious?