YMMV / Gotti (1996)

• Award Snub: Despite being nominated for three Golden Globes in 1996 (for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Miniseries) and seven Primetime Emmys, the film was nearly shut out by fellow HBO film Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny, with Assante winning the sole Emmy for Lead Actor in a Miniseries.
• Critical Dissonance: The film has held a 60% (critics) versus 82% (viewers) approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes for many years, with critic reviews pointing out that the film sanitizes Gotti's history and makes certain characters into convenient scapegoats for the sake of the plot — while greatly condensing the real-life events that inspired the project. In comparison, the film received a much warmer reception from fans, with some going so far as to say the film was Vindicated by History after the release of the 2018 film and reappraisals from mob movie fans.
• Draco in Leather Pants: As is befitting the reputation of the "Teflon Don," Assante portrays Gotti as a flamboyant, larger-than-life personality who charms the media, is equally feared and respected by the public, and goes to great lengths to make the Gambino operation all about him, to the point that he gets called out by other members of the family for attracting media attention. Conversely, some of the more shocking or extreme aspects of the real-life Gotti's past are either ignored or glossed over completely, making him far more of a sympathetic character.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Dellacroce's death from lung cancer can come across as this, given that the actor who played him, Anthony Quinn, died of similar circumstances (respiratory failure caused by lung cancer) less than five years after the movie was released. Making things even harsher, Dellacroce complains at one point that he doesn't want to go to a hospital to treat his Incurable Cough of Death, noting that it would likely hasten his condition. Quinn's actual cause of death was noted as being due to complications from radiation treatment for his cancer.
  • When Gravano is asked at one point why he doesn't get involved in narcotics trafficking, he simply proclaims, "Fuck that shit. They'd lock you up forever. Money ain't a good enough reason to do 100 years." In real-life, Gravano turned back to drug trafficking in the late 90s, and was subsequently charged in the matter in 2000, serving 17 years for the crime (and being a re-offender).
• Misaimed Fandom: Do Not Do This Cool Thing and Rooting for the Empire are in full effect, and it's not uncommon to see commentators and viewers openly state how much they resent the government for nabbing Gotti, despite him being an arrogant leader who nearly runs his entire operation into the ground with his media-loving ways and disregard for his own crew (including Gravano, who eventually decides to turn on him).
• Narm: Gotti's final scene with Ruggiero, with the latter undergoing treatment for terminal cancer, is marred by Vincent Pastore's ridiculous wig, which can be charitably described as "straw stuck onto the top of his head". The major amounts of Ho Yay present as both of them engage in Erotic Eating (Gotti feeds Ruggiero cannoli cream with his fingers as he apologizes for his behavior in the past) doesn't help matters.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • The film as a whole could be seen as a dry run for The Sopranos (another HBO project), which first aired less than three years after this film came out (and had its pilot episode filmed less than a year after the movie's release) and featured many of the actors who appeared in the former project, including Dominic Chianese (Junior), Frank Vincent (Phil Leotardo), Vincent Pastore (Big Pussy), Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts), Frank Pellegrino (Bureau Chief Cubitoso) and Vincent Curatola (Johnny Sack).
  • The film also features a who's-who of Canadian character actors (befitting the film being shot in Toronto, Canada) years before several of them made it big, including Al Waxman (Gotti's lawyer, Bruce Cutler), Alberta Watson (Victoria Gotti), Nigel Bennett (Agent Bruce Mouw), Tedde Moore (the judge during Gotti's second trial), Colin Mochrie and many more.
• Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: The film's attempt to portray Gravano as a Sympathetic Murderer, particularly when he asks John why the latter voiced concerns about him to other associates and insinuated that he wanted him killed, can run into this for fans, particularly after Gravano is shown directly executing two individuals on-screen and participates in the murders of several others. To note, this is audience apathy that bleeds into the real world as well — Gravano subsequently established himself in a new career in 2018 when he took part in several interviews related to his time in the mob and started his own Youtube channel in 2020, where he relates stories of the operations and murders he was involved in, thus cultivating a new fanbase while prompting others to criticize his choice to promote himself in that fashion.
• Vindicated by History: While the film received high viewer figures at release, it was roundly chastized by reviewers as a mediocre mob film that played the source material too safe. In the wake of the 2018 film of the same name (which received a much harsher critical reception) and the film receiving critical praise from reviewers like (reformed Colombo Family Caporegime) Michael Franzese, it has enjoyed a greater bout of popularity from viewers — likely helped by the fact that the full movie has been easily accessible on sites like Youtube for years and HBO has shown no signs of being interested in taking copies down.

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