Monument Ave. - originally Snitch - is something of a laidback Scorsese mob film, only minus his amplitude and even more content to revel in the not-so-peaceful atmosphere of a bunch of drunk Irishmen sitting around a bar telling dick jokes and putting one another down. You remember that scene from The Departed involving Leonardo DiCaprio, Ray Winstone and a cranberry juice? Well, that’s this entire film. Denis Leary stars, so obviously right at home with the material you’d think the film was written for him. And in actuality, the screenplay was at least polished by him. Plus Ted Demme, who might as well have been Denis Leary’s personal director (having filmed both his stand-up acts “No Cure for Cancer” and “Lock N Load” as well as The Ref), directed this film as well. The story, or what there is of one, is about a couple of drug-using, plainly alcoholic petty car thieves in South Boston, themselves constituting their own brand of extended family. There are a couple scenes when the guys are “thrown a job” by the local mob boss (Colm Meaney) and have to actually venture out of the bar, but it’s never for too long and never amounts to too much. Much like the film’s protagonist Bobby O’Grady (Leary), the film feels somewhat unsure of what it wants to accomplish and when it reaches for more, it doesn’t seem right. It’s probably best to just sit back, spin some shit, get plastered and pick up women. In other words, stick to what you know.
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