A few weeks ago I wrote a review of the new A & E show Runaway Squad for Pajiba.com. I’m going to excerpt the very start of the review directly beneath.
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Joe Mazzilli has the blunt appearance of guy who really likes to eat meat.
Sausages, in particular.
Looking at him, you’d think that in his younger days his buddies on the Jersey Shore might have called him The Mazz, or maybe The Mazzurbator.
He has that sort of vibe about him.
Likely closer to 60 than 50, Mazzilli is pumped up and beefy, proudly sporting his thinning, dyed hair like it was some studly crown. Always in a tight, black muscle shirt and wearing a jangle of classy jewelry, he’s an utter cliché, the sort of guy who probably sits around laughing his ass off while watching ancient DVD’s of Andrew Dice Clay. And it’s this man who is the PI at the helm of A&E’s new reality series “Runaway Squad.”
The review gets softer, but not by an awful lot. I eventually concede that although it’s manipulative and insufficient in depth, it is consistently touching, in that happy reunions (runaway and parent) are irresistible.
Shortly after the review appeared, Joe Mazzilli, the heart and focus of the show, wrote to Pajiba, and this is his letter:
Normally I wouldn’t respond to a person like
you, someone I never even heard of, but, it is
a beautiful sunny Sunday morning, here in the USA,
and thought I would say a few words. First of
all I would like to say that I am very happy to hear that a racist, like yourself, does not live
in our wonderful country. Secondly, I find you as
disgusting as Andre Dice Clay. Finally, I don’t
really care what you say about the show and I have
no control over the editing process, but, I have
brought home many children, saved them from dieing, got them proper medical attention and worked hard to change laws, to help the children
of the world. So, Mr whatever your name is, WHAT
ARE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN LIFE, oh, thats right,
you write trash articles, tell lies, make ethnic
slurs and you are a racist. Please stay in Canada.
Joe Mazzilli
Runaway Squad
This took me back a little bit, and not just because he’s a massive, ex-cop from NY who knows how to shoot a gun, but because he makes a few good points.
Although I don’t think I’m a racist, I have no doubt that I took more liberties in describing an Italian-American in the manner that I did than I would have from people in other minority groups. Part of this is because of the aggressively Italian, almost ironic way the show depicted the Runaway Squad, but part of it is probably because the community is so well entrenched and successful in North America that it’s a part of the cultural mainstream, and not on the margins. No matter, it’s really not for me to say whether my use of caricature was offensive, and if Joe Mazzilli says it was—and he did—than I will simply have to take him at his word.
As for what my accomplishments in life are, well, that’s a good question. I’ve done absolutely nothing as substantive as helping to save children from lives on the street, and I should sit down and figure out how I can be more useful in the world.
Writing for a web site that publishes “scathing reviews for bitchy people” it’s often easy to forget that there are real people behind the images we celebrate or crucify on the TV screen. On a “reality” show like Runaway Squad, we’re seeing both a condensation and amplification of a person. In the case of Mazzilli, the production team has chosen to stress the aspects of him that they think will make the best TV, and that’s exploiting the Badda-Bing tough guy persona that’s instantly recognized at a glance when flipping through the channels. Whatever Mazzilli’s intentions are, and I have no doubt that he does want to rescue kids, which is noble and beautiful, he’s also in the business of selling us product, and in that, he’s the one who’s allowing his ethnic heritage to be exploited by the producers of the show.
Comments
12 responses to “Letter from Joe Mazzilli of Runaway Squad after I reviewed the show”
I commend the self reflection and candor in your response to Joe’s letter. I happened to meet Joe today, which is why I googled his name and found your review.
I don’t know the guy well, but he is certainly a man who has put his life on the line as a NYPD undercover cop and in many other ways, always for the good.
You might be interested to know that A&E offered Joe another season and he turned it down, because he could not accept the editorial stand on certain things, especially the fact that they forbade Joe from criticizing the police in any way. Turns out that a lot of cops & their families watch the various crime shows on A&E, and they can’t afford to offend that demographic.
Turning down a season of your own TV show takes integrity that is very rare in this “15 minutes of fame” society.
That said, to the extent that your review was snarky and judgmental, you redeemed yourself with the thoughtful response to Joe’s letter. In my eyes in any case, whatever the f*** that is worth!
Awful and judgmental review. I, for one, find the show interesting, find Joe Mizzilli to be a wonderfully compassionate man (a REAL man), and also find him sexy as hell. I’m sorry to hear that there won’t be another season.
He is a great man thank God for men like him
Joe is a phenomenal man to say the least for what he does which is looking out for others (an unselfished act) that is a lot more than most people will ever do in their lifetime. Who cares what he eats or how old he is that is so minut to the contrary of what he has accomplished and is accomplishing in this world. He obviously isn’t a narcissistic small minded individual looking to degrade people who actually accomplishing great things in this world
Hickory Dickory Dock, Mazzilli’s got a big fn ….YOW !!!!!
Hickory Dickory Dock, Mazzilli’s got a big fn ….YOW !!!!! The Dicer Baby !!!!!
how is runaway squad paid for their work???
do the families pay anything
thanks
sal
http://www.SALvaged-artworks.com
Unfortunately most people who watch and enjoy a show like The Runaway Squad are not aware that they are seeing anything other than reality. These folks forget that it’s TV, and instead they believe this is an unedited secret viewing of what happens when you cross The Rockford Files with Rambo…..Yeah, dude’s a caricature of everything he CAN’T BELIEVE you’d think he is. Man, I think that’s why I sat back and actually enjoyed the premier episode, I have zero doubts that Mazz is EXACTLY like this in real life. This guy rolls up the sleeves on his bathrobe, makes love and showers with the entire Mr T gold pack on, and will drive an exact replica of an undercover cop car until the day he dies. How could you pass all that up? The 60 year old gumba going toe to toe with some gangbangers in the middle of the street. Believe me, the folks watching were sure that bullets could have been flying at any second.
But, here’s the thing, I read another comment where dude said that he (maz) turned down another season due to him not being able to stay true to himself. Hmm, I gotta believe that Rocco loved loved loved the camara’s (more than they loved him) way too much to let anything on his staunch moral code list get in the way. But (BUT) if it’s true, then I’ve got him way wrong, and he’s one hell of a man. Guess we’ll never know.
I loved the show we need more people like mr mazzeli i wish he could hrlp me with a situation im going to give his office a xall god bless u joe and ur wife edie
Winfrey,hillarious,rolls up the sleeves on his bathrobe? Priceless!!
You are out of your mind. You paint him to be some kind of muscle head buffoon. Why because he works out? I can imagine how little you think of your healthcare if you mock a man of whatever age he is who takes care of himself!
He’s actually strong but soft spoken, a family man, with his family involved this passion of his. He cares about children on the street, cares about women you can tell how he speaks to them and has a sweet, gentle soul of a wife.
Meanwhile you speak of him as if he is some sort of crude piece of work like Dice Clay? Dice Clay made money playing the “caricature” of a crude, lewd disrespectful oaf …. how would you put Joe Mazilli in that kind of category?
He served this country has multiple medals from the Police Department. We need more men of character like this around, not men who tear men like this down.
God Bless Joe and the Squad including Gemma and Joe’s son.
I was completely wrong to paint such a caricature. I was criticizing the way the show looked to me, and in doing that I portrayed Mazzili in a convenient and unfair way. I now see he had been doing great things. The critic often sees product rather than person when looking at a TV show, and it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between the marketed fantasy of a show, and the real people being marketed.