Spike of Bensonhurst Reviews

A mixture of Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa and Matt Dillon's tough kid from RUMBLE FISH, male model Sasha Mitchell is the eponymous Spike, a tough Italian street fighter from Brooklyn whose old man is a mafia fall guy doing time in Sing Sing and whose old lady is a spiteful lesbian. Since his father took a fall to cover for mob boss Baldo Cacetti (played with great energy and guts by Ernest Borgnine), the mobster has vowed to take care of Spike. Spike thinks his future is in the ring, so Baldo gets him a few fights, although he complains that he himself left the boxing game because "it's too old...too ethnic." Nevertheless, most of the fights Spike wins have been fixed by Baldo. During one bout, Spike spots Angel (Maria Pitillo), who turns out to be Baldo's precious daughter--a mafia princess who studies at a respected Catholic college and plans, at her father's behest, to marry the clean-cut son of a congresswoman (Sylvia Miles). Angel wants Spike, however; although the boxer doesn't balk at the idea, he's something of a Neanderthal and is more concerned with his fists and his future. Combining the milieus of mobsters and fighters, SPIKE OF BENSONHURST is a likable story revolving around a boxer who, like Rocky, achieves right through might. The film deals with predictable conflicts but manages to present them in an entertaining way.