The Pope of Greenwich Village

Paulie and Charlie (Eric Roberts and Mickey Rourke) are two very dim hustlers...hustlers who don't want to work for a living but who chase get rich quick schemes...often illegal ones at that. These gangster wannabes are also cousins and between the two of them, there isn't a lot of common sense!

Eventually, they end up getting in over their heads...something you can't help but expect from these mooks! They get a partner and commit a burglary...a caper that goes VERY wrong. First, the place ends up being owned by the mob....oops! Second, during the burglary, a cop accidentally gets killed! So, you can only assume that sooner or later they'll end up in prison or at the bottom of the Hudson River! Can the pair manage, somehow, to avoid either fate?

When I say that the pair are dim, it's not an insult to the actors...this is just the way their parts were written. Robert, in particular, is a fine character actor and I enjoyed see him, curly perm and all, in the film. I must say, however, that he's best in roles as villains. 'Nuff said about that. So is this any good? Yes, though you do find it hard to root for anyone in the film. After all, Charlie and Paulie are jerks and it's hard to sympathize with them. And for some, this might make the story tough to stick with...though it is well written and well made. Never dull and only occasionally misses the mark.

By the way, Paulie's plans to use artificial insemination to breed race horses is one that is impossible. I learned this from a friend in the horse racing industry. To become a registered thoroughbred and eligible to race, a horse cannot be the product of artificial insemination nor embryo transfer....a way, I assume, that they'll keep the industry more exclusive.

I am now beginning to rent lots of movies and decided to rent "the Pope.." I've heard so many great things about it.

I AM a Mickey Rourke fan - however if I see him in a shitty film - I have no qualms in stressing my opinion.

A Rourke fan or not - this movie is a delight, from the shots of New York City back in 1984 - to Eric Roberts' acting, this movie was great.

I think the major problem most viewers on this site had was Robert's acting, I felt that Roberts overacted sometimes - or perhaps that's what the script called for and if so he gave a memorable performance - almost hilarious at times - the thumb scene is a prime example. I felt that he almost stole the show.. not because I thought his acting was amazing. because it was almost like a parody - I found it strange at times.

Rourke was cool, calm and focused - his acting was great.. and I LOVED his "come over here.." line.. almost seemed sexual to me.. I wondered what he was going to do.

I think everyone who commented on this film is right in saying how incredibly sad it is how Rourke's and Robert's career went down the tubes the way it did. We all have our demons I guess. The focus is to overcome them. Roberts is a B- movie actor. Rourke was never a B-movie actor - he was always a great actor with enormous potential who still has a shot of living up to his potential

he has recently been making a great comeback - "...my best work is still ahead of me" he commented. he came out of the grave. Amen to that!!

The special things about this film are the Acting and the nostalgic feeling one gets when looking at scenes of New York back in 84 (if you are from the east coast and live close to the city or are from the city - you know what I'm talking about)

Amen to the Pope - great little film, one in which I will buy to my collection.

This was a great film to watch. Finding it in the action-section of the videostore, and seeing the cover, I was kinda afraid it would be just another fast-firing action movie. It sure wasn't. Indeed, this film is a story of character, and it is done so well!!!

The story is well written, with great understanding of the characters, and I feel that the same goes for the actors. They seem to understand their characters, and really carry them out. With that I'd have to give just a little more praise to Eric Roberts, than to Mickey Rourke. Both have before and since then proven that they are capable enough, despite their disappointing careers, and, truth be told, some less performances. But the character of Charlie is really a likable guy. He is the voice of reason of the film, the one we would all like to think we recognize in ourselves. While Paulie, on the other hand, is a different story. Portrayed any differently, he could very well be an ass. I mean, if you knew anybody that set you up, cost you your job, didn't ever listen to you, rat you out, lied to you... Would you like that person? Probably not. But Charlie likes Paulie, and the only thing that makes that believable, is the fact that WE like Paulie. Roberts somehow accomplishes to create this totally unreliable character that you just can't help but adore, and sometimes feel sorry for. He's a moron, but he's sweet and he means well, kinda. He looks up to Charlie, who really hasn't accomplished much more in his life, he just carries it better.

And poor Paulie is so annoying that he is endearing. I almost felt his pain when he was being 'interrogated'. Hilarious hairdo, by the way. For Rourke, this was not any new territory, he played this type of character more often. That doesn't mean he didn't do it fabulously, though, he did. Nothing new, but still good. Indeed one of the best performances of his career. That shows you that award shows mean nothing.

Page is also very good, and rightly recognized for it, and Daryl Hannah can't act, but you can't really blame her for trying anyway, since she seems to be getting away with it. And the poor girl really tries.

Mickey Rourke is "The Pope of Greenwich Village" in this 1984 film also starring Eric Roberts, Geraldine Page, Kenneth McMillan, Darryl Hannah and Burt Young. Rourke is Charlie, who, with his cousin Paulie, rob a mobster with the help of a safecracker (McMillan). Both Rourke and Roberts are in fine form against the New York background. Everything about this film is seedy. The detectives all look out of shape and overtired, everybody has smoker's skin or a drinker's red nose. As Charlie, Rourke wants a big score so he can buy a restaurant, but his fatal flaw is listening to his idiotic cousin Paulie, a total loser and a weakling, who gets him involved in the robbery of a vicious mobster where a cop is killed at the scene. The attractive Rourke uses his sweet smile to good advantage and underplays; it's a shame he underwent such severe plastic surgery and took his career off track. Roberts plays Paulie as completely pathetic, so pathetic that at times, he's funny, even when his circumstances aren't.

The mob movies were in their heyday when "The Pope of Greenwich Village" was made, so it probably got lost in the shuffle. It's not a big film, but the acting and locations are impressive. Look for Geraldine Page in a small but showy role as the dead cop's mother, a woman who can handle the police better than anyone.

Remember when Mickey Rourke was good? Remember Eric Roberts before the "Best of the Best" series? Remember Darryl Hannah at her finest? If not, this surprisingly good film will show you why they all were once established talents (or in Hannah's case, just nice to look at). The dialogue is New York street, but done so well it doesn't feel out of place. A must-see movie for anyone who loves NY, or just stories about endearing losers trying to make it big.