I see this title and images of me doing drunken karaoke as well as images of me sitting naked in front of my television watching “Neon Genesis Evangelion” flash through my mind. I’m not sure whether it’s fortunate or not, but this film has nothing to do with either.
“Fly Me to the Moon” opens up with a re-enactment of the beginning of “Goodfellas.” You know, the scene where Deniro, Pesci and Liotta are riding in a car and all three of them hear something banging around in the trunk. The same thing’s going on here, but what’s revealed is that one of the characters doesn’t want to be a gangster…he wants to be a lounge singer.
The film then focuses (“Spinal Tap” style) on Tony Mancoti, lounge singer extraordinaire and the troubles that show business has thrown his way, such as his pothead guitarist father and the fact that their family name has been spelled wrong on the marquee as MANICOTTI.
Tom Vitorino, playing Tony Mancoti, pulls off a rather good Deniro impression and that’s where a good part of this film’s charm lies, but it’s not enough to turn a decent idea into a really good film as the entire piece is only really worth a couple of good jokes and Vitorino’s performance.
