My review was written in September 1990 after watching the movie on Vidmark video cassette.
Eddie Deezen has a funny comedy vehicle in "Mob Boss", fantasy specialist Fred Olen Ray's successful shift into more mainstream filmmaking.
Direct-to-video release is good enough to have merited some theatrical play but in any event would have had trouble finding its niche. Light-hearted approach is at variation with the ultraviolet spate of gangster pics on the market.
Script by Ray's longtime collaborator T. L. Lankford carefully spoofs "The Godfather". This time it's William Hickey, virtually reprising his "Prizzi's Honor" role, as the main mobster, who calls in nerdish son Deezen to take over after he's shot by rivals.
Level of sily puns has Deezen named "Tony Anthony" and besides Don Francisco and Don Taglianeti there is a gangster name "Don Johnson".
Like his idol Jerry Lewis in "The Patsy", Deezen is put through all sorts of training for his leadership position, including lessons in seduction.
Deezen is fun in the Al Pacino role from "The Godfather"; it would be amusing to see him spoof "Sea of Love".
Supporting cast is very effective, including Morgan Fairchild as a gangster moll; Brinke Stevens as an ineffectual hit woman; and Karen Russell as Hickey's nurse. Irwin Keyes is perfectly cast as Deezen's mentor, making for a funny contrasting team. Ray's interest in film minutiae is reflected in the casting of both Mike Mazurki and Jack O'Halloran, who played the same role in Raymond Chandler's "Murder, My Sweet" and its remake "Farewell, My Lovely".
Tech credits are fine, including cutesy use of sound effects to enhance slapstick scenes.
