Prune juice.  Celery.  A candle.  And an old, angry woman with a vengeance.  After that, a massive explosion.  That’s what I remembered from a film I saw a long, long time ago.

Oh, and a boy named Diane. 

And a hit-man with a spear-shaped violin case.

Before the Scary Movie(s) and Epic Movie(s) and many other “movie” spoof, there was Airplane!, Hot Shots!, and apparently, Jane’ Austen’s Mafia!

(I would like to take a moment to state that Jim Abrahams is obsessed with exclamation points…!)

I had watched all/part of this movie on cable television in a small village in the Philippines when I was much younger, but I could not remember the movie’s name.  All  I had were scenes…scenes so funny that they had been permanently imprinted into my brain.

Years went by, the Internet was invented and rolled out to the masses, and in a fit of boredom, I entered “mafia, mafia spoof, mafia comedy” into Google.  There it was – Jane Austen’s Mafia!  Jane Austen has been a busy lady after her death…books, movies, etc.

Neflix graciously allowed me to watch this movie again after 10 long years, and it’s still as good as it was in that small village in the Philippines.  Where else can you watch gamblers in casinos playing Go Fish, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, and “Last Red Cent” slot machines?  Spagetti en mass?  “Run, florist, run!”?  And most importantly – old, angry women with a vengeance?

If you’re looking for some hilarious takes on some famous movies of the 90s, then go see Mafia!  What have you got to lose?