ok.. this isn't your average comedy.. it's quite fun to watch, but don't expect to fall down on your back or laugh out a storm! it's good, the performance is very good actually. I personally enjoyed this movie! It's a smart sort of a comedy, I think that the whole family can enjoy this one!
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Funky_Casanova23 August 2001
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nuno15729 January 2001Definitely not worth the rental, but if you catch it on cable, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the cameos--Iman's appearance is especially self-deprecating. It's also an opportunity to watch all the male supporting cast members from The Sopranos typecast themselves.
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John-42617 August 1999This is to let you all know that while Quinn says the characters are an offensive representation of some New Yorkers - that's not true! (This comes from an Italian American...me) First of all, the movie is funny as all hell. That's because the quirkiness of the characters are quite real. Just take a walk into any OTB parlor, Yankees or Mets game and you're sure to find characters like those portrayed in The Deli. The character of Johnny played by Mike Starr is so incredibly accurate of the degenerate gambler it's scary. The movie does not 'glamorize' characters (like in Goodfellas or Casino) but accentuates the foibles and wacky neurosis of the everyday gambler and "regular Joe."
I highly recommend this movie for anyone with a sense of humor. While it's no Casablanca, it's a very very funny "insiders" representation of those who dwell in the Italian American blue class neighborhoods of New York city. Rent it. Watch it. And laugh! If you don't find it funny, then the jokes simply went over your head. So you'll need to watch it again. -
Don Corleone22221 September 2001Everything about this film was terrible. To start with this film had a pretty good cast and I find it impossible to make such a great cast into the biggest disaster to the gangster film genre ever. The sound track was like one of a very bad slap stick comedy. It had this music through the whole film and it started to get quite irritating.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT INFLICT YOURSELF WITH THIS DISASTER YOU WILL ONLY BE HURT -
merklekranz2 October 2010A bunch of crazy Italian neighborhood characters, revolving around a local deli, owned by a degenerate gambler. That's it, and regrettably it's not nearly enough to sustain interest for an hour and a half. Mike Starr is likable, and there are a few chuckles, but you will be dozing off before long. This would just about make an average situation comedy. Juggling bill collectors is really not much of a story, so what you get is a bunch of fine character actors trapped in a very mediocre film. Another problem is, other than Starr and his prodigious gambling problem, there are zero subplots, making "The Deli" such lightweight material, that it is instantly forgettable. - MERK
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kosmasp26 June 2020I understand that back then, this may have felt like just another one of those. One that tries to capture the feeling of movies like Smoke/Blue in the Face and so forth. But watching this with years gone by, the perspective helps the movie. I'd go as far as to say that it aged quite well overall.
The casting is amazing (I'm guessing a lot of favors got called in) and the story is alright overall, while not being anything special at all. It is about the interactions of the characters it is about "episodes" in life or the store. Again that may not appeal to you specifically, but that doesn't make this a bad movie - and vice versa. Decent enough for those interested in movies like this -
blockhead23726 May 2006It's a very funny movie. The characters are a little over the top, but that's what makes it funny. It's entertaining to watch and although the moral of the story gets lost in the plot, it's a comedy!! This movie does not take itself seriously. It pokes fun at a lot of the mob movie stereotypes as well as taking the "cameo for a quick laugh" to a ridiculous level. Italian-Americans will probably relate to the way the characters interact. I read a review on a site in which the writer stated that "50 of the 90 minutes is people yelling at each other." This is not true. It couldn't be more than 45 minutes of yelling. This isn't "The Goonies" where talentless kid actors yell at the top of their lungs. This movie is more along the lines of how people living in an actual Italian neighborhood in New York might sound.
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cich21 March 2009Just purchased the Special Edition DVD with the Commentary and Deleted Scenes (which I thought some should have been left in the film). The director and actors on the commentary stated that even children enjoyed the film. Well, let me tell you my 8 year old daughter started to watch it with me during the Pinky/Mattarazzo scenes !! She was laughing. Anyway, a great talented cast that knew how to act natural contributed to an authentic film about a typical ethnic New York neighborhood. Complimenti ! Bellissimo film ! Established character actors such as Tony Sirico, Burt Young, Vincent Pastore, Frank Vincent bring an authenticity to the film which makes the viewers literally feel that they are right there on location in a close knit neighborhood. Even the great Judith Malina from the theater contributes in her portrayal as Mrs. Amico. This film should be viewed by any film lover as it is a light hearted comedy about any given day in a NY quarter.
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user24510 June 2000This movie is so full of charm and characters that vary from the stereotypical to oddly original not to mention some of the best casting and acting you'll see in a small film its amazing its not more popular. On the surface this seems like a typical italian mafia-esque piece, but the characters are so endearing and plain hilarious at times you won't catch yourself thinking 'Mean Streets' once. Everything about this movie is good, the story, the pacing, the cinematography, it all comes together into a very funny, original and intelligent movie. I couldn't get up from watching this after the first 5 minutes, go to the videostore you probably won't be disappointed.
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scottmitchell-708495 May 2019It's a brilliant movie about the dangers of gambling . . . it's a crime it's not available online.
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johnfredericks-6032122 November 2021It reminded of my upbringing in NYC. Crazy, loud , loveable Degenerates! The numbers betting like junkies. They are hysterical without trying to be. If you were raised like I was by nutjobs who waste money on gambling, drinking. Smoking and HYSTERICAL.
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Boyo-222 September 2000Not very much happens in this slice-of-life story about the people who work in and frequent a neighborhood deli. Most of the dialogue seems improvised, which isn't always such a good thing. There was a laugh or two but not enough to sustain interest throughout. Matt Keeslar is good and gets special credit for not even attempting a dese-dem-dose accent. The characters that come in and out of the story are sometimes interesting and colorful, but they add up to not very much. It is always nice seeing some good actors, like Chris Noth, Frank Vincent, Debi Mazar, William McNamara, Ice T and especially David Johanssen, who is perhaps funniest of all as a cabbie.
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Quinn-519 March 1999All through "The Deli", a movie centered around a New York City deli and its gambling-addict owner through the course of a weekend, the film shakes the audience by the shoulders again and again and shouts with the desperation of a drug addict in need of a fix (or a filmmaker in need of a positive buzz for his project)"I'm a quirky independent film with even quirkier independent-film-characters, I swear!!" Plot be damned! Scenes in "The Deli" are set up again and again to showcase the whacky ensemble cast of semi-familiar names playing loser-like, yet sometimes endearing characters that must inhabit the middle class neighborhoods of New York City's outer boroughs like locusts: one prime example is a scene involving a slimy Italian couple with over-the-top Brooklyn accents in a shouting match over some insipid topic as their stepdaughter dances around yelling with them, with rapper Ice T between them. The scene ends with Ice T stamping his foot in frustration and shouting with mighty gusto: "Damn! This place be crazier than my own hood!" Ha-ha. Boy, quirky independent films don't get any quirkier than this. Mike Starr, after a career of second-fiddle-at-best roles as the big, beefy working class guy with the big New York accent, finally lands a lead, and now he most likely never will again. Quentin Tarantino spawned a horrble plague on us all, and it is that of the bratty independant filmmaker who thinks Tarantino is successful only because he made "Reservoir Dogs" first. As a lifelong New York City resident, I've seen this breed of artists (and I use the term quite loosely) flock to Manhattan's trendier districts to jumpstart their careers, and the few who do just that, usually make B-Grade films like "The Deli", and paint their canvas with colorful New York characters who are mere figments in their imagination of what real New Yorkers must be like. I can't say it's all that insulting, at least when it's a mediorce quality film like this one, but it sure gets tiring after awhile, and makes one long for the days when Tarantino was still a waiter, and his army of wanna-bes still in Anytown, USA.
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Mr. OpEd29 May 1999Very funny, if slightly longish, look at odd-balls somewhere in darkest, ethnickest New York. Some of the jokes don't work, but if you don't like one, there's another along in 30 seconds and that's sure to be a pleaser. Any film that has Iman demanding an avocado, no pit (she's off pastrami) is worth one's time.
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caspian197815 January 2004An A Class Cast in a B Class Movie. The Deli tries to be like Clerks or Smoke and fails. For starters, half this movie is just for laughs. No real story, no plot or moral, just a laugh or two. The other half is decent, with good acting, a good storyline, etc. If they had to do it all over again, they should edit 45 minutes of the movie and made it into a short film. That way, the Deli could have won awards for a 3mm short comedy. Instead, the Deli is a straight to video release with an amazing Italian cast and a terrible story. PS....does anybody relate, if not care about the main characters? Gamblers without any shame of destroying their lives in order to win on a basketball game. It's one thing to write a comedy, but the ending makes the audience lose interest in any of the characters and treat the Deli like a "half-baked" comedy...with a great cast of actors.
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polyester23 September 2003A messy movie with the occasional unnecessary scene that gos nowhere and appears to have nothing to do with the plot. One of the most annoying films I have seen in years. I guffawed once so I guess it gets one star. Truly arduous viewing!