Episode no. Season 1
Episode 10 Cinematography by Phil Abraham Original air date March 14, 1999 | Directed by Matthew Penn Production code 110 | |
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Written by Joe Bosso
Frank Renzulli | ||
"A Hit Is a Hit" is the tenth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos. It was written by Joe Bosso and Frank Renzulli, directed by Matthew Penn and originally aired on March 14, 1999.
Contents
Starring
* = credit only
Guest starring
Episode recap
Paulie Gualtieri, Christopher Moltisanti, and Big Pussy kill a drug dealer in a hotel room as a warning to his organization to stay away from the DiMeo crime family's territory around the ports in Newark. They steal cash from the scene, a big score that Tony states should be used legitimately, such as an investment in an IPO.
Tony gives Dr. Bruce Cusamano, his neighbor and family physician, a box of Cuban cigars as a gift for his referral to Dr. Melfi. As part of the follow-up conversation, Cusamano invites Tony to play golf with him and friends at the private country club where Bruce is a member. After some initial hesitancy, Tony does so. Later, at a barbecue with Dr. Cusamano and his friends, while Tony is looking for stock tips, Carmela receives one from one of the wives, and invests in the company. The company's stock soon splits 3-for-1 and Carmela is pleased.
Tony regrets his decision to play golf with Cusamano and his friends, as they ask Tony about Al Capone's winter home in Biscayne Bay and the famous murder of Carmine Galante, and pester him for stories about life in the Mafia. They even ask him if he has ever met John Gotti, which he jokingly says he has. He tells them a story, completely made up, about Gotti's fondness for a certain kind of ice cream truck. Cusamano and his friends are enthralled by the story. Later, Tony discusses the incident in therapy with Dr. Melfi, saying he felt used for the amusement of others. He recalls a high school classmate, Jimmy Smash, who had a speech impediment due to a cleft palate. Tony and his friends made fun of Jimmy because of his speech impediment. Tony learned years later that Jimmy was crying himself to sleep every night and is currently serving prison time for robbery and was easily identified because of his speech impediment. Tony exacts a revenge of sorts on Cusamano, in reference to the scene in The Godfather Part II when a young Vito Corleone holds a bag of guns for a young Peter Clemenza. Tony fills a parcel with sand and asks Cusamano to hold on to it, in an attempt to worry the doctor and his wife. The box is a source of concern to the Cusamanos, who fear it contains drugs or some other illegal substance.
Christopher and Adriana La Cerva dine at Le Cirque and attend the musical, Rent, in the theater in New York. After the show, while waiting for fast food, Christopher makes racist comments about the clientele of the restaurant. This draws the attention of rapper Massive Genius, who is also present at the burger joint. When it appears there might be violence, a cop tells Massive's friend, Orange J, that Christopher is an associate of the Soprano crew. Massive Genius dispatches Orange J to invite Christopher and Adriana to a party at his mansion in Englewood Cliffs. Adriana recognizes Massive Genius, respects his work, and urges Christopher to take her to the party. Christopher and Massive Genius talk business and while Christopher admires Massive Genius' gun collection, Massive Genius is similarly taken with Adriana. After the encounter, Adriana proposes that she should pursue a career as a music producer, and Christopher agrees, given her experience in listening to music. Her ex-boyfriend, Richie Santini, is the singer in a band called Visiting Day. Christopher agrees to put up the money for her to produce a demo for them.
Richie has some problems of his own: He's a recovering addict and never fully recuperated from an injury sustained while trying to use a downed power line to grill a trout (and is perhaps intellectually challenged as well). The demo recording progresses slowly and the producer and Richie argue, eventually leading a furious Christopher to beat the musician with his own guitar. Christopher starts to realize that the band may not be a wise investment. He nevertheless takes the demo to Hesh Rabkin, who has a history in the music business and tells Christopher that the song has no potential ("A hit is a hit, and that's not a hit", he says). Massive Genius meets with Christopher and Adriana to listen to the demo and claims to be impressed. However, Massive Genius seems more interested in Adriana than in the music, something Christopher notices and angrily mentions to Adriana. Adriana, in return, accuses Christopher of trying to hold her back and storms out of their apartment.
Massive Genius later has Christopher organize sit-downs with Hesh. Christopher tells Hesh that Massive Genius is a relative of a deceased artist with whom Hesh once worked and claims Hesh owes $400,000 in music royalties to the artist's elderly mother. When Hesh refuses to pay, Massive Genius responds with a threat of litigation. Hesh mentions a counter-suit over the unauthorized sampling by Massive Genius' music label of a song that Hesh's record label still controls, leaving them at loggerheads. As Massive fumes over the impasse, Tony and his crew comment on the irony of modern-day celebrities like Massive Genius being idolized as "gangsters", with Paulie summarizing it as "fucking depressing".