TV Review: Reality show presents Pittsburgh's 'Godfather'
November 9, 2014 12:00 AM-
A&E
Vince Isoldi, center, surrounded by his family (from left): sons Adolfo and Enzo, wife Carla and son Romeo. -
Karolina Wojtasik
Vince Isoldi.
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A&E's "Godfather of Pittsburgh" is a reality TV version of "The Sopranos" with Yinzer accents and a title character who looks more like Michael Chiklis than James Gandolfini.
"You've never heard of me," says Pittsburgh businessman/reality TV star Vince Isoldi in the show's introduction. "People think I'm a gangster. I just do what needs to be done. Yeah, business is important, but when you're Italian, there's nothing more important than family."
An industrious viewer could create a spot-the-stereotypes drinking game that would have even the most iron-stomached viewer out cold within the hourlong show's first 20 minutes.
It takes less than two minutes before the first "fuggedaboutit." A fight scene between Vince and brother-in-law/business rival Sam Perri includes "after everything I've done for you" and "you're dead to me" along with the F-word bleeped but still obviously used as a noun, verb and adjective.
Another drinking game could be made out of ways in which the show apes "The Sopranos," from camera angles — there's a shot of Vince in the sideview mirror of his black Escalade that's right out of "The Sopranos" opening credits — to Vince's Nevillewood home, with a kitchen that looks eerily similar to the one the Sopranos spent so much time in. The rest of the house is decorated in a style we'll generously call "Sopranos" chic. There's even a family member named Junior, just like Uncle Junior on "The Sopranos."
Mr. Isoldi addresses his checkered past, claiming he would cheat and steal so his family could eat after coming to America from Italy. He admits to getting involved with scams, robberies, bookies, loan sharks and undefined "violence."
"I'm not proud of everything I've done," he says. But he's happy to gain from it by fronting a reality show.
Mr. Isoldi says his most successful business is the Bada Bing!, er, Club Erotica in McKees Rocks. (He's shown on a boat called the Ba-da Bing.)
Club Erotica employee Ray Jay gives viewers a tour and touts the security and warns that guys who get handsy during a lap dance will be evicted.
"They throw you head first down these stairs, see," Ray Jay says. "Right out into the street, and the police pick them up right out in the alley, no problem."
Mr. Isoldi's primary business beef in the pilot is with his brother-in-law, Mr. Perri, who opened club Controversy on West Carson Street near the Duquesne Incline. Mr. Isoldi hasn't talked to his sister, Rosa, Mr. Perri's wife, in months because Mr. Perri dared to infringe on his turf. (Controversy appears to be about four miles from Club Erotica.) The voice of WPXI news reporter Alan Jennings makes a cameo appearance as "Godfather" weaves in Channel 11 coverage of a report on a fight at Controversy that Mr. Perri suspects Mr. Isoldi orchestrated.
"Godfather of Pittsburgh" (10 p.m. Monday) also spends time in the Strip District at Taverna 19, where Mr. Isoldi's brother, Angelo, is the pizza chef.
But "Godfather of Pittsburgh" is equally interested in Mr. Isoldi's less glamorous home life as evidenced by the viewers' first visit there, when his kids have clogged the toilet. Again!
The series claims that 11-year-old, fedora-wearing son Adolfo runs Mr. Isoldi's limo businesses out of what appears to be a large cedar closet. Later in the premiere, Adolfo interviews prospective new limo drivers, asking all sorts of questions that could lead to a lawsuit (questions about the job applicant's age, marital status, etc.). This is where the fingerprints of the show's producers become most evident, which will surely cause some viewers to question just how real the show is. (Also take note of the changing seasons: In one scene, it's 23 degrees and snowy, and in the next, everyone is wearing short sleeves and the trees have leaves.)
Mr. Isoldi's high school-age son, Enzo, appears to be headed toward a criminal life, too. In the pilot, he's brought in by the Braddock Police for beating up someone. (The particulars of the incident are pretty fuzzy.)
Mr. Isoldi seeks council from wife Carla's father, Junior Williams, who Mr. Isoldi said was in jail when they met. Mr. Williams offers reminiscences of the good old days, telling Mr. Isoldi that if Mr. Perri had crossed someone back in the day, his body might have been found "in a trunk out at the airport."
"I'd really like to do some of that," Mr. Isoldi says, echoing Tony Soprano's frequent bouts of wistfulness. "But because of the kids and Carla, I just wanna stay legit, but it's hard."
Here's something that would be easy: Because A&E and Lifetime are part of the same parent company, why not a "Dance Moms"-"Godfather of Pittsburgh" crossover? Maybe one of the dance moms hires Mr. Isoldi to whack screechy Penn Hills dance instructor Abby Lee Miller, but instead the terrible twosome join forces. Imagine the promotional opportunities for this very special crossover episode!
TV writer Rob Owen: rowen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2582. Read the Tuned In Journal blog at post-gazette.com/tv. Follow RobOwenTV on Twitter or Facebook.
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