Scarface (1983)
Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Steven Bauer
“I always tell the truth. Even when I lie.”
I’ll tell you the truth about Scarface. It’s bad ass. And here’s why:
Tony Montana is a bad ass. There’s no other way to put it. In the Godfather, Pacino was awesome because he had that eerie calmness about him and he never lost his temper, even when he found out those close to him were plotting his murder. In Scarface he’s the complete opposite. He’s brash, vocal and completely insane. And it works. No one wants to mess with this guy. Seriously, would you ever want to fight a guy that can snort a kilo of cocaine and then still be able to kill 10-15 Bolivian assassins?? I didn’t think so.
It’s an amazingly quotable movie. Most everything Pacino says turns into a quote that you’ll drop on your friends every now and again. “Say hello to my lil’ friend!” “The only thing that gives orders in this world is balls.” “Say goodnight to the bad guy!” “Everyday above ground is a good day.” The list goes on. This ranks up there with Top Gun and Monty Python and The Holy Grail in terms of quotable movies.
The unintentional comedy is off the charts. The music is a cross between 80’s keyboard music and a bad porn soundtrack (which is made even better by the fact that Tony Montana sounds like a porn name and he dresses like a pimp throughout the movie). It even includes your standard 80’s montage segment. Crappy music played over scenes depicting Tony’s rise to the top. (I’m pretty sure that during the 80’s you were legally required to have these montages in each film.) Pacino’s accent is laughable and Ben Wallace has nothing on Mary Elizabeth’s hair style.
But the absolute apex of unintentional comedy in this movie is when Pacino and Pfeiffer are dancing at the club the first night they meet. (The music that plays over close-ups of Tony’s face when he gets angry with his sister is a close second.) I actually had to rewind that scene twice to catch what they were saying since I was laughing so hard. Comedy at its finest.
I’m not sure how, but Tony’s character, the lines he delivers and the unintentional comedy are able to mesh and create this freaking awesome flick. This one definitely gets added to my Amazon wish list for Christmas this year.
