The Syndicate (I) (2002) User Reviews

Ditto to previous review

[Marky-1 · 8/10 · 12 February 2011]

I've watched a fair share of short films and honestly don't enjoy or understand many of them. I recently happened upon "The Syndicate" and I only decided to watch this film because the cousin of a friend of mine is in it, Brian Burke. I must say I was pleasantly surprised and entertained by this film. Funny, entertaining and easy enough for me to comprehend, the boys in "The Syndicate" deliver the goods. Fortunately for the filmmakers the cast portraying this crew is not as inept as they appear on screen. "Jimmy The Gent" was my favorite and I gotta agree with him. Joey does look like an eight year old when he shaves his beard. (Just don't mess with him though)

The previous reviewer pretty much sums up anything else I could say. Job well done.

Morons...complete morons! And what lovable morons!

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 11 December 2008]

This is a cute little film about three morons who apparently love gangster films. The film begins with the very catchy tune "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry. It perfectly sets the pace as two of the three future wise(?)guys ponder life and their future. Then, on a lark, they hit upon the brilliant idea of quitting their jobs at the car wash and becoming mobsters. After all, they reason, with the Gottis out of circulation, there must be an opening in the business! Despite this sounding like a totally stupid idea, the three are apparently MUCH stupider--as their efforts to establish a criminal empire are pathetic...and very, very funny. So many of the scenes work well and there isn't a miss among them. I particularly loved the masks they wore for their first big job! Naturally, they are total failures but by the end of the film they have another "brilliant idea" as yet another great old song ("Born to be Alive" by Patrick Fernandez) blares on the screen.

You really have to see this to believe it. What makes this such a wonderful guy is that despite their aspirations, they are all at heart gentle men. Had they really broken heads and broken the law, the film hardly could have been a comedy. So, these dunces decide to use b.b. guns and set their standards very low--though they really know the important stuff such as how to dress and talk like movie gangsters!

Truly exceptional writing, some very good performances (and the one guy can really do some nice impersonations of celebrities) and a nice gentle direction make this a must-see film. Too bad that up until now so few have actually seen it--it deserves to be noticed.