Over-The-Top Mob Comedy With Gangster Star, Stream Without Netflix

Killin Smallz was written, directed, and produced by Philadelphia filmmaker Ray Martin, who entered the business of movies after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down his chauffeur service in early 2020. Martin claims that he wrote over half a dozen films while suffering from cabin fever during the height of the pandemic, before a chance meeting on a golf course connected him with Happy Gilmore actor Christopher McDonald. McDonald apparently saw a great deal of talent and initiative in Martin’s work, and introduced him to Tom Guiry, the former child star who portrayed Scotty Smalls in the 1993 classic film The Sandlot.

If you’re not already familiar with The Sandlot, you’re certainly familiar with the recurring phrase “You’re killin’ me, smalls!” which is hurled at Guiry’s character several times throughout the film. As a person whose actual last name is ‘Small,’ I heard this phrase on a near-daily basis growing up, and it never once got old. Guiry stars as a fictionalized version of himself in Killin Smallz, alongside a wide array of non-actors and actual personal friends of Ray Martin.

The only other “real” actors who do appear in the cast of Killin Smallz include Joseph D’Onofrio and Tony Darrow, who are both mob movie royalty in their own right. The duo, who both held minor roles in Goodfellas, happen to be represented by the same management team as Tom Guiry. Despite having appeared in dozens of films and television shows in the mob movie genre, Tony Darrow is best known for his small role as Larry Boy Barese in the HBO original series The Sopranos.

In Killin Smallz, Darrow stars as Tony Capone, a mob boss who is struggling to earn income as the COVID-19 pandemic eliminates many of his tried-and-true money-making opportunities. After a few members of Capone’s glorified crew catch a screening of Ray Martin’s directorial debut, 2020’s Stealing a Survivor, they craft the hair-brained scheme to kidnap a celebrity for ransom, before ultimately choosing Scotty Smalls actor Tom Guiry as their target.

The movie is clearly a low-budget passion project from a team of amateur filmmakers, and surely won’t be short-listed for any Pulitzer Prizes in the near future. Despite that, Killin Smallz is one of my favorite kinds of movies, as it proves that anyone with a great idea and a passion for enjoying themselves can create quality art. Martin has specifically explained that his script writing process is centered on getting funny and authentic performances out of real people in his life, resulting in a few side-splitting exchanges in this over-the-top outing.

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The film’s opening scenes are especially hilarious, as the crime-ideas pitch meeting feels like a deleted scene pulled right out of The Sopranos. If you don’t mind taking a step away from the usual high-budget blockbusters that populate prominent streamers like Netflix and Disney+, be sure to give Killin Smallz a spin on Tubi today. I would certainly recommend it, and not just because a couple of Philly leg-breakers told me I could be the next Smallz to get killed.