Made (2001 film)

Infobox Film
name = Made

---

imagesize = 200px
caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Jon Favreau
producer = Jon Favreau
Vince Vaughn
Peter Billingsley
writer = Jon Favreau
starring = Jon Favreau
Vince Vaughn
Peter Falk
Sean Combs
music = John O'Brien
Lyle Workman
cinematography = Christopher Doyle
editing = Curtiss Clayton
distributor = Artisan Entertainment
released = July 13, 2001
runtime = 94 min.
country = flagicon|USA
language = English
budget = $5 million
gross = $5,308,707
imdb_id = 0227005

"Made" is a 2001 film written and directed by Jon Favreau. It stars Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Peter Falk, and Sean Combs.

Plot

Bobby has ties to the local mafia boss, Max, but works as an honest mason for Max's construction projects. He fights in amateur boxing matches on the side, but his career is lackluster. Struggling to support his stripper girlfriend Jessica and her daughter Chloe, Bobby decides to do a mafia job for Max. Against his better judgment, he brings his ne'er-do-well friend Ricky along.

Bobby and Ricky go to New York to act as Max's representatives for a money laundering deal with his east coast partner, Ruiz. They meet Jimmy, who will be their driver, and Horrace, who is connected to both Max and Ruiz. Ricky and Bobby squabble throughout their trip as Ricky tries to live large while Bobby wants to keep cautious and stick to the letter of Max's instructions. Ruiz has a low opinion of the pair, but sends them off to show his criminal contact, the Welshman, a good time. Gaffing several times along the way, the pair eventually manages to arrange a deal between Ruiz and the Welshman's Westie contacts.

Ricky grows suspicious of Ruiz and insists that they bring a gun to their meeting with the Westies. Bobby adamantly refuses. On the day of the meet, Ricky has disappeared, but Jimmy insists that Bobby carry on with the meeting. As Bobby begins to grow suspicious of Jimmy, he meets with the Welshman and the Westies. The Westies doublecross Bobby and the Welshman, but Ricky arrives from a side entrance with a gun. A Westie recognizes Ricky's weapon as a starter pistol and a fight breaks out. Jimmy arrives with a real pistol and sends the boys away while he deals with the Westies.

Back in Los Angeles, Bobby severs all business ties with Max. Arriving home, he discovers Jessica in bed with a client and snorting cocaine. Bobby tries to convince Jessica to clean up her act for Chloe's sake, but Jessica refuses. Instead, she asks that Bobby take custody of Chloe and leave. In an epilogue set at Chuck E. Cheese's, we learn that Bobby and Ricky are now raising Chloe together -- although the two friends still bicker constantly.

Cast

*Jon Favreau as Bobby Ricigliano. Though Bobby has ties to the mob, he tries to lead a normal life as a mason and aspiring boxer. He is cautious and usually mild-mannered, but Ricky's irresponsibility sometimes causes him to lose his temper.
*Vince Vaughn as Ricky Slade. A loud, obnoxious, and arrogant loser, Ricky has known Bobby since high school. He got expelled from school for protecting Bobby after a stunt. Ever since, Bobby has tried to help him out in any way he can, though Ricky always finds a way to mess things up.
*Famke Janssen as Jessica. A stripper with a child, Jessica is not as committed to her domestic and familial responsibilities as her boyfriend Bobby.
*Peter Falk as Max. An elderly mafioso, Max is indebted to Bobby and supports him with work in his shady businesses. He cannot tolerate Ricky, but employs him as well at the insistence of Bobby.
*Sean Combs as Ruiz. A powerful underworld boss and mogul in New York, Ruiz has style, wealth, and a very low opinion of Bobby and Ricky.
*Faizon Love as Horrace. A go-between in the crime dealings of Max and Ruiz, Horrace divides his time between Los Angeles and New York.
*Vincent Pastore as Jimmy. Bobby's and Ricky's driver in New York, Jimmy plays it cool with the boys from L.A. until their mistakes finally catch up with them.
*David O'Hara as The Welshman. A Scottish criminal who protects his identity, the Welshman is interested in making a deal with Max and Ruiz.
*Makenzie Vega as Chloe. Jessica's daughter from a previous relationship, Chloe is largely neglected by her mother and is much more fond of Bobby.

Movie connections

Because the film is written by Jon Favreau and stars Favreau and Vince Vaughn, it is commonly seen as a follow-up to "Swingers". The license plate of Jimmy's Limo, "DBLDN11", is a reference to a blackjack strategy articulated in "Swingers" that one should "always double down on an 11."

During Dustin Diamond's cameo, Ricky refers to him as "Screech", referencing Diamond's character on "Saved By the Bell".

Reception

The critical reception of the film was mildly positive, receiving a 67% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.cite web
title = Made (2001)
publisher = Rotten Tomatoes
url = http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/made
accessdate = 2007-03-21 ] The film received a limited release in America and had almost no release overseas. It had a world box office gross of $5.3 million,cite web
title = MADE
publisher = Box Office Mojo
url = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=made.htm
accessdate = 2007-03-21 ] slightly lower than "Swingers". Overall it was not as successful or as culturally influential as "Swingers" in spite of the increase in budget and star power.

Trivia

* "Made" is noted for having many uses of the word "fuck": the word is used a total of 291 times. In fact, Made has one of the highest "fuck-per-minute" (FPM) ratio of any feature-length film: 3.1.
* Jon Favreau's interest in writing a screenplay for a mafia movie is featured as a plot device in an episode of "The Sopranos" that aired several months prior to the release of "Made". It is interesting to note that three members of the "Made" cast (Vincent Pastore, Federico Castelluccio, and Drea de Matteo) were regular cast members of the series at the time of the film's production. All three of these actors appeared in the episode in question, although none appeared on screen at the same time as Favreau.
* Tom Morello, most commonly known as the guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, makes a short cameo in the film as "Best Man." Adult actress Jenteal also has a small cameo in the same scene as a stripper named Wendy.
* The high school football coach Favreau and Vaughn receive advice from early on in the film is Vaughn's dad, Vernon Vaughn.
* The old woman leading a pack of school children through the zoo is Jon Favreau's grandmother, Joan Favreau.
* The DVD was released in a 2-Disc Set with "Swingers" called "The Money Collection". The collection's title is a pun on the mafia dealings in "Made" and the slang term "money" in "Swingers".
* In the scene at the Luna Cafe where Ruiz (P. Diddy) insults Vince Vaughn's character for drinking Strega "The Witch" after midnight because he insists that it is an aperitif, P. Diddy and the waiter are in fact wrong and Vince Vaughn's character is correct in saying that Strega is a digestive a drink meant to be enjoyed after dinner.

References

External links

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