''Kings of South Beach'' is a 2007 American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by Tim Hunter and written by

Nicholas Pileggi Nicholas Pileggi (, ; born February 22, 1933) is an American author, producer and screenwriter. He wrote the non-fiction book '' Wiseguy'' and co-wrote the screenplay for ''Goodfellas'', its 1990 film adaptation, for which he received a nominati ...

, about an infamous operator of nightclubs in the

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard. This area was the fi ...

section of

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...

. The lead character is portrayed by

Jason Gedrick Jason Michael Gedrick (born February 7, 1965) is an American actor best known for his work on the television series '' Murder One'' and ''Boomtown'', and the motion picture '' Iron Eagle'' as Doug Masters. Early life Jason Michael Gedroic was ...

; his best friend is portrayed by

Donnie Wahlberg Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, record producer, and film producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has had roles in the ''Saw' ...

. The film premiered on March 12, 2007 on A&E.

Background

The film is loosely based on a true story about the exploits of Chris Paciello, a transplanted

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

er who was involved with the

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of ...

back in his hometown. He built a house of cards in South Beach, founded on models, money, and celebrity friends, including Madonna. After an intense undercover investigation, Paciello was arrested on

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and ...

and murder charges, and went on to testify against known members and associates of the

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

and Bonanno crime families.

Cast

as Andy Burnett *

as Chris Troiano * Ricardo Antonio Chavira as Enrique * Brian Goodman as Lt. Jim Hawke * Frank John Hughes as Lt. Houlton *

Steven Bauer Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson; December 2, 1956) is a Cuban-born American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on ''¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' (1977–1980) and is perhaps most ...

as Allie Boy * Sean Poolman as Manny Jones * Ariane Sommer as Girl at the Bar * Nadine Velazquez as Olivia Palacios

Production

Filming took place entirely in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

in 2006. The production received a 40% tax rebate from the Puerto Rico Film Commission.

Reception

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' critic Linda Stasi rates ''Kings of South Beach'' as a "four star film" with a casting described as “perfect.” Robert Bianco of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'' describes "Gedrick and Wahlberg as absolutely first-rate, as these fine actors tend to be." Scott Weinberg of ''DVD Talk-Review'', however, called it "obvious, listless, and completely predictable from start to finish", and said that "''Kings of South Beach'' is little more than a very thin retread of several much better crime stories."

References

External links

* * 2007 films 2007 crime drama films 2000s American films 2000s English-language films A&E (TV network) original films American crime drama films American drama television films American films based on actual events Crime television films Drama films based on actual events Films about the American Mafia Films directed by Tim Hunter Films set in Florida Films shot in Puerto Rico Miami Beach, Florida Organized crime films based on actual events Television films based on actual events Films with screenplays by Nicholas Pileggi {{US-tv-drama-film-stub