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Cast: Danny Aiello, Jon Polito, Academy Award Nominee Lesley Ann Warren, Louis Vanaria, Heather Tom, Frank Vincent, Frank Bongiorno, Joe Sicari
Frank Tramontana, a hearse driver who unwittingly gets drawn into a scheme his co-workers have concocted for a series of unfortunate "accidents" designed to clean up the neighborhood and fill their funeral parlor with much needed customers. As the body count rises, they stumble and bumble their way through the sidesplitting antics of this new business plan strewn with familiar faces like Jon Polito (American Gangster) and Frank Vincent (Phil Leotardo "The Sopranos"). But things get a bit complicated and problems are further exacerbated when Frank's provocative ex-wife (Academy Award nominated Leslie Ann Warren) reappears to give Frank a dose of reality.
It is great seeing Danny Aiello again, he is amazing in his role as the main character here, Frank. Frank is a man that use to work as a public relations executive until an accident and his wife leaving him caused him to quit and go drive a hearse for a living. He enjoys his job because he is close friends with the other guys that work there and the funeral home holds a special place in his heart since it is where he gave his last goodbyes to many people he knew and loved. It doesn't take long before the funeral is running out of customers, with the influx of younger people in the neighborhood business just isn't what it use to be. Frank's buddies come up with an idea to help get the place going again while at the same time clearing the neighborhood of some of the lesser-liked people but as time goes by their plan begins to spiral out of control and it looks like their scheme is about to be uncovered. I love dark comedies and Stiffs is one that benefits from a number of things, for starters it has a cast to die for, besides Aiello the rest of the film's cast are all just as brilliant including, Jon Polito, Louis Vanaria, Frank Bongiorno and Lesley Ann Warren as Frank's ex-wife. There are many hilarious moments but the film is not without a little drama as well. Frank already has enough on his plate but when his ex-wife shows up demanding he help with his son's college tuition things even get more hectic as Frank has to find a way to come up with the money and fast. Stiffs cast makes a difference but the film is also smartly written and cleverly funny and it keeps a tremendous pace thanks to Director, Frank Ciota. This is a busy film so to go into everything that happens in the film would take forever plus it would not do the film justice. Stiffs is an Independent film that rises above it's big budget counter parts, if you are a fan of dark comedies or are just looking for something different to watch I highly suggest keeping this film on your radar. Stiffs will have a September 14th release on DVD, you can Pre-order it HERE. I had a great time watching it and it was great seeing a group of actors this stellar in a movie together the film wit murder, mayhem and lots of laughs making Stiffs a comedy to die for. Released by Monterey Media
**** Out Of *****