Harvey Goes Mad
Friday June 05, 2009 | Contributor: Jennifer Wright

When you think of famous fans of J.Crew these days, you probably think - Michelle Obama. She’s hardly alone. Mega-movie mogul Harvey Weinstein also seems to appreciate the preppy-proper store. So the J.Crew Men’s store in Soho was the most logical and comfortable locale possible for Mr. Weinstein’s party to celebrate the launch of The Mad Ones.



The book describes the life and times of infamous “Crazy Joe Gallo,” fleshed out by the antics of his entire family. The Gallo Brothers – a family of 1950’s Brooklyn gangsters - seem to epitomize everyone’s B-movie Mafia dream, conducting business in Red Hook and running with bohemians in Greenwich Village. Godfather fans will be astounded at the number of details from their lives (from going to the mattresses to relationships between family members) that mimic aspects of the classic film.



Tom Folsom, the author, has experience writing about unsavory characters. His last work, Mr. Untouchable: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Heroin’s Teflon Don, recorded the life of notorious drug dealer Nicky Barnes. Tom reminded us that he had been fortunate to collaborate on the last book with Nicky Barnes; alas, that opportunity wasn’t available with Gallo, who met a surprising (read the book to find out) end in the mid-seventies.



The book wasn’t all Soprano-style Mafia tales, though. There were a lot of suit related anecdotes, which seemed more than appropriate to our party location. Apparently, Joe Gallo remarked that “if you want a suit, steal one. Looks just as good. Feels even better!” No one took his advice at the event (as far as I know - Ben Widdicombe does have that wily look about him) though perhaps Brooke Geahan planned the gift bags to dissuade us. Each one contained a very dapper men’s J.Crew tie, as well as a copy of The Mad Ones and Aesop body balm. (I am now reading the book looking for any notable mention of body balm that might have prompted the last gift).



You may be seeing that gift tie around some famous necks in the near future. Matthew Modine looked very J.Crew-y (a new adjective) as he read from the novel. Steve Buscemi looked somewhat less J.Crew-y when he spoke, but the text gave him the opportunity to break out a great number of clever impersonations, from Bob Dylan – who wrote a song about Joe Gallo called “Joey” - to JFK.



If you’re not up for reading the book, no worries. Weinstein and Co. have already optioned the movie rights. It’s always a good thing when someone like Harvey Weinstein is a little crazy about your work.

Tom Folsom via Facebook