What I learned from watching Scarface

I owe a lot of gratitude to Brian De Palma's film, "Scarface" (1983). It made quite an impression on many young impressionable males, much like I was. For those of you living under a rock and are not familiar with the film, "Scarface" is about a small time criminal's rise to the top; from dishwasher to leader of the most powerful drug cartel in Miami. Al Pacino's portrayal of Tony Montana, a ruthless political refugee from Cuba, was met with much controversy for depicting Cuban immigrants as being violent criminals. Or maybe they were just upset with Pacino's hokey Cuban accent.

There are many valuable lessons I learned from watching the film. I discovered that the "f-word" can be used as an expression of love. Not to get high on your own supply. That ladies find men in cheap leisure suits and bad haircuts rather attractive. Not to underestimate the other guy's greed. Absorbing copious amounts of cocaine makes you impervious to pain. In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women. Most importantly, I learned that the guy who wants more than what he needs doesn't fly straight no more.

To summarize the film in a sentence, "Scarface" is about chasing the American dream: excess, power and greed. As Ms. Elvira Hancock (Michelle Pfeiffer's character in "Scarface") put it-"Nothing exceeds like excess."