Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets about to keep his promise.
Oscar is a farcical comedy based on a stage play, featuring Sylvester Stallone in an atypical comedic role as a mob boss trying to go straight. The plot is driven by escalating mistaken-identity chaos and door-slamming bedroom-farce energy that keeps things lively but is ultimately a fairly conventional stage adaptation. Stallone is game and surrounded by a deep ensemble cast including Tim Curry, Ornella Muti, and Don Ameche, though the performances are broadly theatrical rather than cinematic. The cinematography is functional and stagy, as expected from a play adaptation with little visual ambition. Novelty is modest — the fish-out-of-water mobster-goes-legit premise and farcical structure are well-worn, and the film doesn't reinvent them. The ending wraps things up in satisfyingly tidy farce fashion without much surprise.