THE MAIN ATTRACTION: AMERICAN GANGSTER & THE TOP 10 GANGSTER FLICKS

by Adam Best, Arrowhead Addict

With today's release of the epic gangster flick American Gangster, I'm sure we'll all get our skulls clobbered in with pieces comparing controversial figures from the sports world to real-life gangsters.

Hell, we've already got one comparing Bill Belichick to Suge Knight. Ahem. Just because he rocks a hoody doesn't mean he's from the hood.

On that note...

Pacman Jones isn't Tupac Shakur.

Nate Newton isn't Frank Lucas.

Ugueth Urbina isn't El Patrón.

And so on and so on.

You know why I'm not going to give pro athletes gangster comparisons? Because idiots like the aforementioned were already rich and famous -- getting involved with crime was stupid as hell. It makes about as much since as Grady Jackson going on the Super Size Me diet.

Most people get into crime because they need to make ends meet and they don't have any other talents. To quote Eddie Murphy, when you're a professional athlete "the ends are meetin' like a mother fucker." Why in the hell would you get involved in illegal expenditures when you are already rollin' in dough, and doing so legally?

Pro athletes who try to moonlight as gangsters aren't gangsters at all. They're complete and utter morons.

As for the old, tired, they-have-their -entourages-and-families-to-support and bad-influences-drag-them-down B.S. -- please. Give your crew and fam jobs. Real ones. And, no, by real I don't mean managing Bad Newz Kennels.

I hate that spiel, I really do.

When you make it, you don't owe anybody anything (well, maybe you owe your mama a crib or a Jag, but usually that's it). Just the same, when you screw everything up and end up in Shawshank, that's on you, too. If Allen Iverson can stop being Cru Thick and fly straight, anybody can. That's what I'm saying. What I'm also saying is that by the time you reach the age of 21, you know what's right and what's wrong. That remains true whether you grew up in Cabrini Green, Greenwich or Green Acres.

I understand getting a DUI or failing a drug test. I even understand accidentally knocking some hotty up. Pro athletes blow up fast, and sometimes think they're above the law. Hey, we all make mistakes, and I'm sure it's hard to stay completely out of trouble when you become both a millionaire and a celebrity overnight.

But that's where I draw the line.

Michael Vick's dumb ass knew better than to run illegal dogfighting operations.

Stephen Jackson knew better than to go to a strip club packin'.

Mike Danton knew better than to put a hit on his agent. Fire him? Yes. Whack him? No.

It's cool for rappers to live the gangster lifestyle -- it sells records, pays the bills. Keepin' it gangster does nothing for professional athletes, though. What kind of contract do you think Vick will get when he gets out of prison? And Jackson will probably wish his first name was Curtis the next time he and his agent enter contract negotiations.

Besides, the most notorious American gangsters -- Barnes, Capone, Castellano, Costello, Gambino, Gotti, Lucas, Luciano, Rothstein, Siegel, etc... -- were great at what they did. Most professional athletes are bumbling idiots as criminals. I'm not glorifying being a gangster or a mobster, I'm just saying. Most of those guys got in at a young age and didn't know what else to do. They stayed in because: A.) They were great at crime; and B.) They were in too deep to get out. Additionally, most of those guys either ultimately regretted the vile lifestyles they lived and all of the terrible things they caused, or died before they could.

I've just never understood something. When you watch Scarface, OK, yeah, it's cool to think that's a nice life and daydram for a minute. Ultimately, however, the whole point of Scarface is that crime doesn't pay. Tony Montana gets lit up worse than the Redskins defense did last week before falling to his bloody death. Yeah, real glamorous. Real gully. Real stupid.

Almost all gangster movies have "redeemable" characters and echo the same message , which is that being a gangster never works out.

Pulp Fiction - The hitman who retires lives. The hitman who doesn't gets capped.

Carlito's Way - Carlito gets back in for one last run. The run is his last anything.

The Godfather Series - Michael gets pulled in after years of resisting and loses everyone he ever cared about. Everyone.

Goodfellas - Henry Hill ends up in the witness relocation program, looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life. Everybody else gets whacked or dies in prison.

Even the most recent real-life gangster, John Gotti, died in the pen (at the medical prison in my hometown of Springfield, MO, ironically enough).

Some may think these movies and stories glorify the criminal lifestyle. I disagree. Nobody with half a brain wants to die prematurely or end up someone's bitch in the shower, and that's what happens in all of these movies.

Daydreaming about being a gangster is OK. I'll admit, I love gangster movies. You watch these films and you get caught up for a second. In the end, however, gangster just isn't cool. You fuck up everybody else's life before ultimately fucking up your own.

Personally, I'm sick of feeling sorry for pro athletes who go gangster. Look, most of us would have given anything, anything, to have been Michael Vick. He throws that all away because he's passionate about illegal dogfighting, and we're supposed to be sympathetic? Hell nah.

Most of us daydream about being gangsters because gangsters are rich and famous. Pro athletes are already rich and famous, and legally. Again, it just makes no damn sense to me.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to American Gangster. From what I've heard, it's going to be an instant classic with a message that echoes the message of this post: Most infamous gangsters have stories that should prevent us from wanting to be gangsters, not provoke us.

Film critic Peter Travers -- who didn't exactly build his sterling rep kissing ass -- wrote this about the film:

"Call it the black Scarface or the Harlem Godfather or just one hell of an exciting movie, but the fact-based, 1970s-era American Gangster is already looking like a major awards contender."

In fact, reviews like this have me so jacked about American Gangster that I'm going to rattle of my top ten all-time gangster films in honor of this special occasion.

My Top 10 Gangster Flicks:

10. Once Upon A Time In America

This isn't the last De Niro flick you'll see on this list. I know that much (sounds like something he'd say, with a smirk).

9. The Usual Suspects

Right up there with Pulp Fiction. Insanely rewatchable, even after you know its secret.

8. City Of God/Infernal Affairs

The Brazilian film that rocked my effing world and the Hong Kong crime saga that spawned The Departed share this spot. The two best foreign gangster flicks I've ever seen.

7. Miller's Crossing

Probably the Coen Bros' best movie. That's saying something, people.

6. Scarface

One of the most influential movies of all time.

5. The Godfather

The Godfather Part II never could've happened without this classic leading the way.

4. Little Caesar/The Public Enemy/Scarface (1932)

The classics that birthed the genre in the first place. Most haven't peeped these. Big mistake. Find them and do so. Now.

3. Goodfellas

In my opinion, this is Scorsese's best film (well, this and Raging Bull). Should have won Best Picture. I could watch this 1,000 times.

2. Pulp Fiction

Arguably the best film of the last 20 years. Tarantino changed the game forever with this classic.

1. The Godfather Part II

Not only the best gangster film ever made, but its also arguably the best film ever made. I bust it out once a year, on special occasions. Gangstas pop Dom Pérignon. I pop Don Corleone.

Honorable Mention:

A Bronx Tale, Boyz N the Hood, Bugsy, Carlito's Way, Casino, The Departed, Donnie Brasco, Heat, Layer Cake, Mean Streets, Menace II Society, Reservoir Dogs, Rififi, Road To Perdition, State of Grace, Superfly, The Untouchables, White Heat and many, many more...

So take your happy ass and go see American Gangster this weekend (currently 80% on Rotten Tomatoes), start Netflixing these other movies and, please, PLEASE, avoid all sportswriting that compares Jose Canseco to Sammy "The Bull" Gravano. Just fughedaboudit.