The Crew: Synopsis

There's no place like home-even when it's the ratty Raj Mahal senior citizen residence hotel in yuppie-haven South Beach, Miami.

While sexy models cavort on the white sands posing for haute couture fashion magazine covers, four fossilized former wiseguys -- Bobby Bartellemeo (RICHARD DREYFUSS), Joey "Bats" Pistella (BURT REYNOLDS), Mike "The Brick" Donatelli (DAN HEDAYA) and Tony "Mouth" Donato (SEYMOUR CASSEL) -- face eviction from the semi-squalor of the Raj on this otherwise posh strip of shore. Management's plans for renovations of the building, to force higher rents and attract a classier clientele, are squeezing the geezers out.

Although in the sunset of their years, it's not exactly sundown, and they hatch a seemingly simple scheme to save their retirement residence. Comedy and chaos collide when the elderly GoodFellas' caper goes awry and inadvertently entangles a paranoid drug lord who is convinced he's about to be rubbed out by a mysterious gangland rival.

On the beaten-up verandah of an old hotel sit four retired wiseguys whose style harkens back to a time when sharkskin suits were all the rage and women were draped in mink. They once had it all: women, power, money and respect. Their career paths may have been unorthodox - extortion, arson, a few stick-ups and heists here and there - but nonetheless, they were big shots.

The foursome eventually left New Jersey to move into the Raj Mahal Hotel, the last retirement hotel on South Beach. While his cohorts may be there for the climate, Bobby's got a deeper purpose. He's looking for the daughter he left when she was just a little girl and he went off to do hard time in prison.

Aside from the aches and pains of advancing years, the crew is perfectly happy at the Raj. Unfortunately, the landlord is starting renovations to attract new tenants - and higher rents. When he threatens the guys with eviction, the crew take emergency measures.

Joey "Bats" comes up with a plan. They'll simply "borrow" an unclaimed body from the mortuary where Brick has come into his own as a make-up artist for the deceased and bump off the already dead guy in the lobby of the hotel. To cover their tracks, they'll make sure the corpse is unrecognizable.

After a bit of fumbling, they manage to create what appears to be the bloody aftermath of a murder. Squeamish tenants run from the crime scene and property values crash in their wake. When the landlord kicks in a rent reduction and a hefty bonus for signing long-term leases, the boys bounce back with renewed spirit and a spring in their step.

While Bobby's lying low, the others are celebrating. The deed has awakened their bravado. They're back in the saddle again. They're doing fine until Mouth spills the beans. The quiet, no, make that silent type, Mouth stopped talking years ago. He also stopped having sex until his libido is given a jolt by a beautiful stripper named Ferris (Jennifer Tilly). Their night of passion also loosens his vocal chords. As he rambles on, he inadvertently tells Ferris about the "murder."

Ferris digests this dangerous bit of information and comes up with her own devious plan. The crew finds out about Mouth's indiscretion when Ferris informs them that she knows their secret. Furthermore, she tells them that the body they bumped off may have been unclaimed, but it wasn't unattached. As it turns out, the body belongs to a former mob boss whose son is now very upset about his father's death. He jumps to the conclusion that the murder is a sign from his enemies that he's at war. In addition, in exchange for her silence, Ferris wants the crew to bump off her stepmother (Lainie Kazan).

Their innocent scheme has now backfired with a vengeful exotic dancer, possible retaliation from the reigning drug lord, another crime to commit and a questioning pair of cops. Faced with this dilemma, they cautiously skirt the repeated interrogations of Detectives Olivia Neal (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Steve Menteer (Jeremy Piven), who have their own set of problems. Not only do the detectives have a curious crime to solve, they are also dealing with their own dysfunctional relationship brought on by Steve's wandering eye.