Rob the Mob

Rob the Mob is a 2014 American romantic crime film directed by Raymond De Felitta and written by Jonathan Fernandez. The film stars Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Andy García, Ray Romano, Aida Turturro, Frank Whaley, Michael Rispoli and Joseph R. Gannascoli, and is based on a true story. It was released on March 21, 2014.

In 1991, small-time crooks Tommy Uva and Rosie DeToma get high and rob a florist on Valentine's Day. He goes in while she waits in the getaway car. Tommy gets caught, convicted and serves 18 months in prison.

Meanwhile, Rosie works at a debt collection agency run by Dave Lovell, once convicted for fraudulently invoicing major companies out of $800,000. Reformed, he now mainly hires ex-cons at his firm. Although Lovell gives Tommy a job and a second chance, he is restless and instead of following the call script, he often helps people defraud Lovell's company.

Seeing mafiosos in his neighborhood, Tommy grows enraged. Blaming them completely for his father's death due to the humiliation he regularly suffered by them, he resentfully calls them old fat guys living off their reputation. As Tommy's father started his shop with a mafia loan, he suffered frequent beatings for late payments. Tommy's mother and brother still run the shop, but his mother cites Tommy's criminal activity for breaking her husband's heart and leading to his death.

Tommy skips work one day to attend John Gotti's trial. He watches Sammy the Bull's testimony, perking up when Sammy explains guns are not allowed in mafia social clubs. He cases one of the clubs Sammy mentioned, then proposes robbing it to Rosie. Tommy explains that it will be safe since no one will have a gun, and that the mafia would never call the cops. He gets an Uzi, which Rosie shows him how to load.

During the first robbery, Tommy shoots the Uzi wildly in the air, eventually convincing the mafiosos to hand over their jewelry and cash rolls. He humiliates them by messing with their hair and making them simulate having gay sex with each other. As he leaves, he shoots up the walls, saying, "This is for Frankie Uva!"

Rosie and Tommy are thrilled with their score, but have dangerously angered mafia members. Sal consults with big boss Big Al Fiorello about how to deal with them. He wants the duo found and scared, but not killed, due to the heavy scrutiny on the mob from Gotti's trial.

Tommy and Rosie run out of money so rob another club. He humiliates the mobsters this time by making them strip to their underwear. FBI Agents have the club under surveillance, and are stunned at the sound of gunfire. When Tommy flees, the mobsters chase him in various stages of undress. Agent Frank Hurd photographs several of them standing on the street in their underwear looking bewildered.

Hurd shares the story with New York Post columnist Jerry Cardozo, reluctantly agreeing to let him publish one of the pictures. It becomes a front-page story, and a deep humiliation to the mob.

Tommy and Rosie convince Lovell to skip work one day to attend the trial with them. Lovell is as enthralled by Sammy the Bull's testimony as they are. Sammy mentions The Waikiki social club. On the way back to work, Lovell notices an Uzi hidden in the back seat.

When Tommy robs the Waikiki, he is dismayed there are only three very old men there playing cards. One of them, Joey D begs for his wallet back, claiming it is a gift from his dead wife. In it, Tommy and Rosie discover a list of the entire mafia organization, with names, ranks, phone numbers, and addresses. They decide to warn the mafia they have the list, as insurance against retribution. Rosie even calls Big Al at home to tell him they have it.

Big Al is furious at Sal, who explains that Joey D had the list as Sal thought no one would think such an old man had such an important piece of evidence. The list is a phone tree, meant to function as a pass by mobsters who get arrested.

The arrested mobster calls the guy with the list to signal he will not be cooperating with authorities, who then notifies everyone on it so that they can know the authorities are bluffing if they say that the arrested mobster has become an informant. The FBI has always wanted such a document because it proves they are a real organization.

Big Al summons everyone to a meeting, putting out a contract on Tommy and Rosie, aka "Bonnie and Clyde". Meanwhile, Rosie calls Cardozo to complain that he has underreported the number of clubs that they robbed. She organises an interview with him, and after initially protesting, Tommy joins her in talking to Cardozo. His profile of them humiliates the mafia further, and draws far too much attention to Tommy and Rosie. Reading the article, Lovell warns them about the danger they are in.

One day, as Sal is driving through the neighborhood, he comes across Tommy and Rosie, recognizing them from their car. He follows them to their apartment, and is stunned to find they live three blocks from the first club they robbed. Saul orders his underlings to kill them.

The FBI infiltrates Tommy and Rosie's apartment, making a copy of the list, which they use to arrest Big Al. Cardozo is outraged to learn that Tommy and Rosie will not get any FBI protection for the role that they played in the investigation.

Cardozo tries to give airline tickets to Mexico to Tommy and Rosie, warning them they are in way over their heads. They insist they have a plan. Driving into Manhattan to view the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and the holiday windows on Fifth Avenue, they are finally gunned down by mafia captain Dominick Pizzonia.

An actual photo of Tommy and Rosemarie Uva is displayed over some final title cards, which explains that the list they stole led to several mob convictions.

The filming began in May 2013 in Manhattan, New York City.

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 41 reviews, and an average rating of 6.99/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Bolstered by a pair of likable leads and suffused in a warmly nostalgic glow, Rob the Mob is an uneven crime caper that mostly works." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

• Rob the Mob at IMDb
• Rob the Mob at Rotten Tomatoes