Under New Management

Under New Management, a wonderful take on the Mafia genre, concerns a socially conscious Wall Street Yuppie named Robert Monte (played superbly by Chris Diamantopoulos) with ties to the mob. Raised by his uncle, a capo, because his own father was whacked, he honors said uncle's dying wish to reform his crew by helping them go legit and generate enough revenue to pay a mob debt, lest they all meet their demise. Robert forms a real-estate company and the wise guys turn into real-estate agents. On their road to legitimacy, they find it helpful to occasionally return to their mob roots when they need a little extra boost to pull something off. All this happens under the watchful eyes of a couple of FBI agents, one of whom is a beautiful, Irish woman played by Kelly Overton; her relationship with Monte forms a major subplot that keeps you wondering whether she wants to put Monte away for life or have his baby. The movie is a drama mostly played for laughs, and I found it brilliant and hysterical, with Monte continually comparing the Mafia to Wall Street: "Bernie Madoff made you guys look like shoplifters." What's so funny is how true his opinions are. When the gang grumbles about paying taxes, he points out to them, would you rather pay taxes or lawyers? Pay FICA or do prison time? A rich cast of pros (many you will recognize from forays on The Sopranos), supported by an intelligent script by Denis Hamill made this a winner for me. I don't plan on erasing it from my DVR anytime soon.

To be honest, I don't watch a lot of movies…but when I find one that appeals to me…I'm like a kid and have to watch it again and again…this is one of those films. It's an Independent film without the standard "glam". The script has some wicked twists and turns…but it never becomes silly or overly romantic. Everything is great, from the acting to the writing, not to mention that it truly shows off New York's beauty. The music was perfect and very different from other films. I enjoyed its simplicity and the actors were incredible. Under New Management is a sweet, charming very well made movie…too bad more movies aren't as wonderful as this one. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Makes paying for cable well worth it!

Stumbled onto this remarkable little film while channel surfing and couldn't stop watching. A beautifully shot film, excellent performances, and a cast you can't help but love. I don't recall seeing any ads for this film in the theaters, nor did I see any advertisement on the cable channels. I don't know why this film hasn't been promoted 'cause this film is brilliant. This is independent film making at its best. The cast consists of familiar but essentially unknown actors - but each and every role was perfectly played. The chemistry between all the players will make you want to know more - one of the reasons I came to IMDb looking for it - and you'll want to watch this movie more than once. I guaranty the two leads, Chris Diamontopoulis and Kelly Overton, will be big stars. Watch this film now on Showtime. You won't regret it.

I saw this move on The Movie Channel tonight- and was truly amazed at the high quality of videography and acting. I wanted to come to IMDb to read more on the director-- Joe Otting-- and the actors-- as many of them i recognized but couldn't place quickly-- yet all were incredibly talented.

This is really just a movie with a lot of heart. It's a feel-good movie that takes me out of the stress of the day- and makes me believe again in holiday magic, love and the art of movie making.

New York City, which is a city near and dear to my heart, is another character in this movie. Mr. Otting did an incredible job with sweeping camera pans that showcases the city. He made New York and Brooklyn mirror the growth of the mob guys who are under pressure to clean up and shape up. He also turns the city streets and restaurants as backdrops to a classic star-crossed love. It felt like a modern day Romeo & Juliet or rather West Side Story, but with a unique and funny mob spin. This movie really had it all- laughs, love, sorrow and excitement. It was definitely a rush from start to finish. Very captivating.

Perhaps my one regret was that the movie ended. i would love a sequel, where we see the lovers together, perhaps in a different city backdrop, working together on a new challenge/opportunity. These are characters you love- that you care about- and like a very good book- at the end you want more. I can still hear the well-written banter of the two stars as the car drove off to the sunset- and i was clinging on to every word. I would love to see this movie again- and would love to see these characters again. In my opinion, ten out of ten stars. Worth every second.

This new film intrigued us for we were not familiar with the actors, yet the plot looked interesting and in addition a 2009 movie shown the same year usually does not bode well and... I was plain curious what this was all about. There was a limited information on the film to begin on IMDb as if it was just completed days ago. The story is about the mob in Brooklyn and their need to convert to legitimacy to remain alive. When the big boss wants to retire and realizes that the old ways are over and that he is too old, he calls on his wall street well informed nephew to save the business albeit legally. The nephew never being part of the mob scene however ends up swearing to his uncle that he will be the new boss and that the old style gangster business will disappear and all the wise guys will learn the "honest" business of real estate. There is also the standard boy meets girl story here, where the girl is working for the FBI and her whole purpose is to get these gangsters and put them away. This leads to some interesting circumstances when she must deal with the nephew and he with her. First of all I am very delighted with director's work because there is no part of the movie where I would say that this is dumb or what were they thinking? The camera frequently shows Roebling's masterwork, the Brooklyn bridge- several times from a distance in it's full majesty. Considering how old it is and that it still is a vital part of the city's transportation amazes me. The film is shot all around the greater part of Brooklyn as far as I can interpret and the camera angles and scenes were impressive to say the least. We watched this film in High Definition on a large screen and fully appreciated that. The lighting on every scene was done well and the picture was crispy sharp. When the plot is good and the photography is too, one is on the way to a good film. The actors were mostly unknowns yet they didn't fail in their performance and the acting of all, was second to none!. Perhaps salary money was saved this way and channeled in other directions. There was little depth to the characters, yet one could still feel and root for them. The musical score was splendid and certain parts were very moving. I wondered several times who could possibly have composed this score? Everything blended well together with the story and with the addition of older standards, with known singers through out the film supplemented the composer's own work nicely. However I could not locate the composer's name, only his assistant was named..and a sound track is not available yet. Yes... the movie plot is predictable- yet that is fine with me because after it was over, I felt good and concluded that I had not wasted my time- as I had in watching other films, always hoping for something good. There are no review stars displayed as of yet and I seem to be the first. I trust my enthusiasm won't disappoint others when they watch it. There is language used here- so that must be mentioned. I watch a movie to escape from reality for a few hours and this movie did not fail.