The 1999 film remake of Gloria follows a formerly incarcerated woman named Gloria and an orphaned boy named Nicky’s frantic journey across New York City while being chased by gangsters.
Is Nicky’s Father Jack Jesus Nunez an Idiot?
The movie Gloria opens with the complete slaughter of a 7-year-old boy’s family.
A disk containing the names of those involved with a high-level conspiracy to disrupt the peace in New York City in an attempt to gain control of the territory was created by the boy Nicky’s father – Jack Jesus Nunez, as insurance. One of the trigger-happy henchmen of the (seemingly Irish Mafia) organization comes to kill Jack in an attempt to silence him.
Now – instead of attempting to hide his wife, his mother-in-law, and his daughter – Jack Jesus Nunez instead sends his 7-year-old son Nicky down the fire escape to go stay with his brother. We learn later on in the film that Nicky cannot even remember where his uncle lives, and does not know how to take the subway on his own.
Jack acting on impulse aside – why on earth would Jack tell his son that he is “the man of the family now” and send him alone on the city streets when he believed he would be killed?
Why on earth did Jack Jesus Nunez simply allow his entire family to be slowly slaughtered, only for his son that was allowed to escape to be captured literally less than 5 minutes later by the goons?
I don’t know if this was a plot contrivance simply to set up the story of emotional trauma bonding between Gloria and Nicky, or if Nicky’s father Jack was really that stupid at a pivotal moment in his life. Because Jack literally looked out of his apartment door with a gun on his hip, saw the mob henchmen coming, and literally went straight to his youngest child Nicky and let him escape.
Why on earth wouldn’t you at least allow your daughter and their grandmother a chance to escape as well? Wouldn’t the kids need someone to take care of them if something should happen to their parents?
Was There a Remake of the Movie Gloria?
Apparently, there was an earlier version of this film made in the 1980s and directed by John Cassavetes. It seems the plot from the stories are fairly similar, with the 1980s version being set in the South Bronx while the 1999 remake is set primarily in Washington Heights and Manhattan. A chief difference seems to be that the Italian mob has been changed to the Irish mafia.
What is the Movie Gloria About?
The 1999 film remake of Gloria follows its titular character Gloria and a young boy named Nicky.
Gloria has just been released from a three-year prison stint following her taking the fall for her mafia boyfriend, Kevin. Realizing that he never once came to see her, Gloria shows up at his apartment and demands compensation to start her new life in Florida.
Meanwhile, Kevin’s henchman has recently killed 7-year-old Nicky’s entire family in a “gangland style” murder. They kidnap Nicky and while visiting Kevin’s apartment, Gloria stumbles upon the boy and uses him to help her rob the mafia family and escape New York.
While that plot synopsis doesn’t sound too riveting, I thought Gloria was a pretty decent film.
It had that “Hooker with a Heart of Gold” trope intertwined with a crime drama plot that was very popular in 90s media. Some of the jokes did feel a little dated at times watching it years later but overall, it showed a New York full of corruption that indeed most likely still exists today.
I personally feel the film only worked so well strictly because Gloria had just gotten out of prison. Had she not been incarcerated, Gloria most likely would not have cared about Nicky’s welfare or life after the murder of his family members.
The need to rebuild her life into something meaningful is what truly spurned Gloria to (un)officially adopt Nicky and decide to start a new life raising him as her son in Florida.
But, what did you think about this movie?
Have you seen the original film from the 80s? How did it differ from the 90s remake?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
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