The Many Saints of Newark

[ForCuseSake]

-I always thought that we would learn that Junior was Tony's real father. I expected Junior to blurt it out when Tony last visited him and he was senile. I mention this because of Dickie's girlfriend. She looks like Chris. She likes the word MFer like Chris, they said Chris's mom couldn't have kids, and Chris was never close to his mother. However after the she can't have kids scene, the rest of the movie makes no sense for this theory. Why would the girlfriend give up the baby and then never ask about the baby? She had no resentment? Would Chris's mom pull a Stark and raise a bastard son? Was it known or did they try to hide it? Did they "adopt" or did she not leave the house for 9 months to cover it?

This was where the movie went south for me.

Dickie's wife can't have kids and a few scenes later... here's our son. Not even a half-assed attempt at explaining.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

This was where the movie went south for me.

Dickie's wife can't have kids and a few scenes later... here's our son. Not even a half-assed attempt at explaining.

It makes no sense. I think they wanted people to question who the real mother was. Chase likes people to go down a rabbit hole. But if the girlfriend is the real mother then...Why did she give up Chris? Why did she never ask about Chris? Why did she never complain to Harold? Why did she care about the salon and not Chris? Why did she not leverage giving up Chris to get a salon? They could have had a quick line that "you promised me if I gave him up" that would have gone over most people's head. Why did Chris's mother agree to go along? Why did no one else question where the kid came from? Tony was old enough to know a women gets a belly when pregnant. If he thought Chris was adopted, then he has no connection to him.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Also where was all the food? They had the hamburger scene. But food wasn't a huge part. Tony's breathing as he ate is such a non plot memory from the show.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

I wasn’t defending the movie, just sharing a thought.

I have seen the therapy theory (still don't think it added anything to the movie) and Chase used Liotta to signify this since in Goodfellas his wife was Lorraine Bracco. I still think they were dreams given the weirdness of them (especially the baseball stuff). Also one scene had no other prisoners in the room and another Sally disappeared. I haven't gone to check but I have seen it said online that Joe Pesci's music album was one of those, as was a fake album with Maury's picture on it.

Little things like these are great additions to a good plot on a TV show that you can watch each episode a few times to take it all in. I used to watch every episode twice when it first came out. The first time to enjoy it and the 2nd time to analyze everything. With a bad plot movie that wasn't supposed to be on TV until well after its theatrical release, they aren't as cool. The movie wasn't enjoyable on its own. Wish Chase spent more time on the story and less time on the hidden treasures.

***Edit***

It is also interesting how they almost made Dickie play Tony's role. Besides the therapy he ran the same crew Silvio, Big P, Paulie as did Tony. This doesn't make sense for the timeline but is an interesting parallel. Also both Dickie and Tony had a car moment.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

For those who haven't seen the movie yet I think it might be better to read up on everything and even know what happens before watching the movie. It would be like knowing the plot of an opera or musical beforehand. You are just going to enjoy the performance. Outside of Silvio and a few Paulie moments the performances were quite good in the movie. Also you get to see all the hidden treasures that Chase put in if you know where to look. You miss them without knowing before. If you watch this movie for a story, you won't find one.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Figured I would share this here, I have been listening to Talking Sopranos podcast. It is Steven Schirripa and Michael Imperioli. They go through episode by episode. There is some good info especially from Michael as he wrote and directed on the show. He gives you a glimpse into Chase. Some good stories too.

 

[UpstateSM]

It was nothing but nostalgia until the last 15 minutes

 

[UpstateSM]

I don’t understand why they made it a point for Dickie to say that Joanne wasn’t able to get pregnant. I had assumed after watching the movie that his mistress was Christopher’s mother and circumstances led to Joanne raising him but now talking through it with somebody none of it makes sense haha

 

[HOFCeluck]

Not sure I should see this. Do they go into Valery’s origin story at all

 

[Chip]

I finally watched. The best thing I can say is that it kept my attention. But as I thought about it after, I really didn't enjoy it, for all the reasons you all have listed here.

The baby thing alone. She can't have babies. Then there's a baby. No pregnancy, no mention. If the Italian girl, she doesn't seem to care even though she's so passionate about everything else.

Was the Uncle Junior angle part of the original show? Can't recall.

Overall, it just wasn't that good.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

I finally watched. The best thing I can say is that it kept my attention. But as I thought about it after, I really didn't enjoy it, for all the reasons you all have listed here.

The baby thing alone. She can't have babies. Then there's a baby. No pregnancy, no mention. If the Italian girl, she doesn't seem to care even though she's so passionate about everything else.

Was the Uncle Junior angle part of the original show? Can't recall.

Overall, it just wasn't that good.

There was a deleted scene that explained the Junior thing. The story from the show still fits but this was an added part to the story. Kinda it was Barzini all along except no one really cares about this one.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Spoilers to follow so don’t read if you haven’t watched …….

-in what world does Dickie’s goomah admit to having sex with another dude … let alone Harold .. so incredibly fake

-so then he kills her and there are no questions asked by anyone ?

-how were we supposed to watch the movie while not being distracted by the fact that high school Tony’s character was clearly based on John Cusack High Fidelity flash back scenes?

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Spoilers to follow so don’t read if you haven’t watched …….

-in what world does Dickie’s goomah admit to having s e x with another dude … let alone Harold .. so incredibly fake

-so then he kills her and there are no questions asked by anyone ?

-how were we supposed to watch the movie while not being distracted by the fact that high school Tony’s character was clearly based on John Cusack High Fidelity flash back scenes?

I think Tony as a kid was way to weak, the older kid version of Tony played bi his real life son. Just don't see it. The movie pretty much sucked

 

[Chip]

I think Tony as a kid was way to weak, the older kid version of Tony played bi his real life son. Just don't see it. The movie pretty much sucked

I felt like the only interesting thing was seeing him with Carmela, Artie, Jackie. But there was nothing to it. They were just extras.

Even Paulie, Pu $$y, Silvio really had nothing. Johnny and Junior, not too much. Always good to see my former freshman year dorm room neighbor, Vera Farmiga, who gave some glimpses into Livia.

If you were a Sopranos fan, this really did nothing. Hardly setup anything that the series was. And they completely whiffed on the age difference of Tony and Christopher.

It was the Dickie and Harold show with some character names you've heard of.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

I felt like the only interesting thing was seeing him with Carmela, Artie, Jackie. But there was nothing to it. They were just extras.

Even Paulie, Pu $$y, Silvio really had nothing. Johnny and Junior, not too much. Always good to see my former freshman year dorm room neighbor, Vera Farmiga, who gave some glimpses into Livia.

If you were a Sopranos fan, this really did nothing. Hardly setup anything that the series was. And they completely whiffed on the age difference of Tony and Christopher.

It was the Dickie and Harold show with some character names you've heard of.

Think about it like this , if this was just a stand alone movie .. and we had no idea who any of these people were , this movie never sees the light of day

 

[STEVEHOLT]

I think Tony as a kid was way to weak, the older kid version of Tony played bi his real life son. Just don't see it. The movie pretty much sucked

The younger Tony who was running the gambling ring in middle school seemed more tony-like

I was also flummoxed at the lack of character development of Tony’s dad.. he shot the beehive hair do but we already knew that

 

[IthacaBarrel]

I felt like the only interesting thing was seeing him with Carmela, Artie, Jackie. But there was nothing to it. They were just extras.

Even Paulie, Pu $$y, Silvio really had nothing. Johnny and Junior, not too much. Always good to see my former freshman year dorm room neighbor, Vera Farmiga, who gave some glimpses into Livia.

If you were a Sopranos fan, this really did nothing. Hardly setup anything that the series was. And they completely whiffed on the age difference of Tony and Christopher.

It was the Dickie and Harold show with some character names you've heard of.

Did Silvio's age really add up as well? That would mean he had same job for 25 years no? Maybe just me.

They were all much closer in age in the real show. The movie was just too loose with too many things and most die hard fans have watched every episode like 5-6 x and they should have thought about what level of detail many can remember from the show and why most are left scratching their head.

I am surprised they didn't show Adriana waiting on tables or something in the movie

 

[Chip]

I am surprised they didn't show Adriana waiting on tables or something in the movie

Ha. Or Vito as a high schooler getting a woodrow in the shower after gym class.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Did Silvio's age really add up as well? That would mean he had same job for 25 years no? Maybe just me.

They were all much closer in age in the real show. The movie was just too loose with too many things and most die hard fans have watched every episode like 5-6 x and they should have thought about what level of detail many can remember from the show and why most are left scratching their head.

I am surprised they didn't show Adriana waiting on tables or something in the movie

Not only was Silvio balding .. he was already like end stage bald when tony was like 10…he sure didn’t seem like he was 20-30 years older in the series

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Did Silvio's age really add up as well? That would mean he had same job for 25 years no? Maybe just me.

They were all much closer in age in the real show. The movie was just too loose with too many things and most die hard fans have watched every episode like 5-6 x and they should have thought about what level of detail many can remember from the show and why most are left scratching their head.

I am surprised they didn't show Adriana waiting on tables or something in the movie

In the Movie, Silvio was already running with the Soprano crew when Tony was like 12 in 1967. If Movie Tony was born around 1955, when the Show started he woulda been 42 not 38 like Show Tony. Gandolfini was born in 1961 which is even younger than Show Tony.

The story from the Show was Silvio got involved with Tony (who was born in 1959 which doesn't jive with his age in the Movie) when they held up Feech's card game around 1980. If Movie Silvio was running with the crew already for over a dozen years, he wouldn't have been involved in the card game robbery.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

In the Movie, Silvio was already running with the Soprano crew when Tony was like 12 in 1967. If Movie Tony was born around 1955, when the Show started he woulda been 42 not 38 like Show Tony. Gandolfini was born in 1961 which is even younger than Show Tony.

The story from the Show was Silvio got involved with Tony (who was born in 1959 which doesn't jive with his age in the Movie) when they held up Feech's card game around 1980. If Movie Silvio was running with the crew already for over a dozen years, he wouldn't have been involved in the card game robbery.

Good point .. he’d have been one of the guys getting robbed