Oh snap. Can one learn anything from Corky Romano? I can’t imagine it, but I gotta try. Let’s go!
Pop Quiz Hot Shot!
1) In the film Pops Romano is going to be indicted for racketeering. Racketeering means “any criminal scheme or operation with ongoing or recurring profit,” as defined in the 1970 U.S. RICO Act. What does RICO stand for?
2) Corky drives a Miata (now sold as the MX-5) which is constructed by what Japanese car manufacturer?
3) Allegedly the name Corky comes from the nickname for the real-life New Jersey crime boss Gaetano Vastola. Vastola is somewhat notable for being one of the five murder which major mafia boss was charged with under the U.S. RICO Act?
4) C’mon now, you know you are getting a music question. What song is Corky famously singing waaaaay out of tune in the trailer and beginning of the film, and who performed it?
5) The movie Chris Kattan performed in right before this was a 2001 comedy starring Brendan Fraser in which Kattan plays a reanimated organ donor. What is this (very weird) film?
Bonus NYTimes Listing Question: October 26th, 1999 at 9:30PM a Chris Kattan classic was on tv.
What is that film?
Answers
1) It occurred to me that just naming RICO was too easy and it would be interesting to know that it stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. So Racketeering is right there in the name. Useful.
2) That would be Mazda. The Mazda Miata. Mazda is named after the Zoroastrian deity Ahura Mazda who is the creator deity of that ancient Iranian religion.
3) That would be John Gotti. And yeah, obviously we have to watch the John Travolta masterpiece Gotti at some point. I suppose we should probably also watch the 1996 HBO TV movie where Gotti is portrayed by Armand Assante.
4) That would be Take On Me by A-ha, which also is considered to be one of the greatest music videos ever produced, so worth a watch if you want to prep for 80s pop classics. Interestingly, as far as U.S. releases are concerned, A-ha would maybe be considered a One Hit Wonder, with Take on Me hitting number 1 and then no subsequent single hitting higher than 20th. People fucking hate The Living Daylights too … I kind of love it as a synth pop song though, like, that’s a banger if it isn’t a Bond song.
5) That’ll obviously be Monkeybone. Apparently Monkeybone was based on a graphic novel called Dark Town, but it only had one issue, so it really only exists as a single graphic novel which is impossible to find, and a movie which apparently sucks … it is like bizarro world Men in Black.
Bonus NYTimes Listing Answer: I do swear these will get a bit harder, but I couldn’t pass up A Night at the Roxbury as an option. The movie is catastrophic.
I hope you really do enjoy watching Gotti now, I’ve heard it is the best movie ever made (by MoviePass).
Bad Movie Twins 