Crew

Call them "Grumpy Old Goodfellas," old mobsters who trade in their rods for a retirement home. Fast-talking Richard Dreyfuss is the nominal leader of the quartet of retired Jersey wiseguys, and thick-headed softy Dan Hedaya, silver-haired lady's man Seymour Cassel, and Burt Reynolds, an enforcer with a pacemaker, round out the group. When their Florida apartment house threatens to go condo with young, upscale tenants, they flex their creaky muscles and scare off investors with a devious bit of mob theatrics. Their success spirals out of control, and soon they're up to their toupees in blackmail, murder for hire, a homicide investigation by a cop who just may be Dreyfuss's character's long-lost daughter (Carrie-Anne Moss), and a mob war with a Hispanic drug lord. Jennifer Tilly costars as a scheming stripper, and Lainie Kazan is terrific as a brassy widow. The script, by Kingpin cowriter Barry Fanaro, flirts with leering sexual humor and outrageous gags while turning unrepentant killers into a cute and cuddly bunch of snappy-dressing codgers. Leave it to director Michael Dinner to transform that into a warm, sweet, good-natured film that explores the way the aged lose dignity in their later years and celebrates the strength of four guys who draw on their skills, their courage, and their spirit to take their dignity back. --Sean Axmaker