| My Blue Heaven | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Herbert Ross |
| Produced by | Herbert Ross Anthea Sylbert Goldie Hawn (executive) Nora Ephron (executive) Andrew Stone (executive) |
| Written by | Nora Ephron |
| Starring | Steve Martin Rick Moranis Joan Cusack Carol Kane William Irwin |
| Music by | Ira Newborn Walter Donaldson (theme song) |
| Cinematography | John Bailey |
| Editing by | Robert M. Reitano Stephen A. Rotter |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | August 17, 1990 |
| Running time | 97 min. |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $23,591,472 (USA) |
My Blue Heaven is a 1990 comedy film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Nora Ephron and starring Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, and Joan Cusack.
It has been noted for its relationship to the movie Goodfellas, which was released one month after this film. Both movies are based upon the life of Henry Hill, although the character is renamed to "Vincent 'Vinnie' Antonelli" in My Blue Heaven.
While Goodfellas was based upon the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, the screenplay for My Blue Heaven was written by Pileggi's wife, Nora Ephron, and much of the research for both works was done in the same sessions with Hill.
The movie was filmed primarily in the California city of San Luis Obispo and the surrounding area, though the nominal setting is a fictional suburb of San Diego, California. Some scenes were actually shot in San Diego. The film's title comes from the famous 1950s song which appears in the soundtrack, performed by Fats Domino.
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Vincent "Vinnie" Antonelli (Steve Martin) is a former mobster recently inducted into the Witness Protection Program with his wife, Linda. The two are under the watchful eye of Barney Coopersmith (Rick Moranis). Vinnie and Barney soon find common ground when both of their wives leave them due to their lifestyles. When he succeeds in getting Vinnie to a suburb in California and a private house, Barney has one more problem: he must make sure the jovial and sometimes mischeivious Vinnie conforms to Witness Protection protocol until he is sent to Federal Court to testify against mob kingpins. Doing this is not as simple as it appears to be.
Originally, Steve Martin was cast to play Barney Coopersmith, with Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the role of Vinnie Antonelli. However, Schwarzenegger was soon thereafter offered the role of Det. John Kimble in Kindergarten Cop, and left the production. Failing to find another suitable "Vinnie" for Martin's Coopersmith, Martin offered to take on the role of Vinnie himself. Producers agreed, and then cast Rick Moranis as Coopersmith, who had originally been considered for the role, but was unavailable until then.[1]
The film took in a fair $23 million at the box office and was received cooly by most critics, with the New York Times calling it "a truly funny concept and a disappointment on the screen."[2] However, years of repeats on cable television have won the film a mild cult following.[3]
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