It’s perhaps too early to say, butTulsa Kingappears to be flowing through the same rivulet asBreaking Badregarding critical and fan reception. The first season was good, but it didn’t cause anyone to cancel a date. Season 2, on the other hand, has been excellent so far and currently boasts a flawless 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
This is hardly surprising, considering that the show has a wide variety of ingredients that make it tasty. It is produced by the great Taylor Sheridan and written by Terence Winter (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, andThe Wolf of Wall Street), who, throughout his long career, has been a magnificently sensitive observer of gangster dynamics. Besides that, the Season 2 cast has names like Frank Grillo and Neal McDonough, who all deliver vivid, well-rounded performances.
Tulsa King
The top guy, is, of course,Sylvester Stallone, and so good is the actor here that it’s hard to question his commitment to the role. In the Paramount+ series, his character is Dwight Manifredi, a recently paroled Invernizzi crime family member who is sent to Tulsa to feed on the financial crumbs that the region has to offer, since there is currently no place for him in New York. The city’s underworld is dull when he arrives, but Manifredi turns things around and becomes the Don. While at it, he maintains a strong fashion sense. He is perhaps the best-dressed TV gangster of the 2020s, and the fashion choice was inspired by a famous real-world Don.
The Importance of Fashion in Gangster Fiction
Great fictional gangsters put plenty of thought into their dressing. Few can forget Tony Montana’s white suit inScarface. He always found himself in bloody situations, yet no red stains ever ended up on the fabric. Rothstein’s tortoiseshell sunglasses inCasinotrigger an urge to buy the same pair, while Tony Soprano’s bowling shirts and basic shorts inThe Sopranospaint him as a mob boss who doesn’t care much about conventions. Adon doesn’t wear shorts? Not his problem. Then there are shows likeMagic CityandBoardwalk Empire, where it always seems like Paris Fashion Week for lawbreakers.
Tulsa King: Every Episode of Season 1, Ranked
Mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi is exiled to Tulsa by his “mob family” after being released from prison.
To Dwight Manifredi, life is a party and should be approached as such. The martini-swilling, flamboyantly smart-talking mobster is always dressed for the occasion, and even for no occasion. In a city where everyone takes it easy, the gangster stays sharp, andaccording to costume designer Suzanne McCabe, the wardrobe wasmostly influenced by the fashion choice of the notorious Gambino crime family mob boss, John Gotti, aka The Dapper Don.
“I looked at the Gambino crime family, the Franzese family, and all the usual ones that you always saw in the papers back then. However, John Gotti was definitely a big one.”
The Dapper Don would be proud. Like Manifredi, he never cared who was irked by his flamboyance. To hima man was only as good as his clothes. The more expensive, the better.
John Gotti Was a Media Darling Thanks to His Fashion
Gotti loved talking to the media. Andreporters liked him because he consistently appeared in front of cameras looking like a million bucks. Photographers would return to their editors with lots of cool photos while reporters would note plenty of not-so-wise words from a wise guy.Known for his preference for matching pocket squares, hand-painted silk ties, brightly polished alligator shoes, and Brioni suits, Gotti’s fashion excesses are the main reason he was labeled “The Dapper Don.”
Movies That Were Actually Financed by the Mafia and Gangsters
Hollywood has had some deep ties to the mob and organized crime, with some films actually being funded and produced by mafia members.
It is reported that the New York mob bossspent between $1,800 and $5,000 on each of his made-to-measure suits. While admirable, Gotti’s style made him a target for law enforcement officers.FromGoodfellastoAmericanGansgter, viewers have been constantly reminded thatmobsters aren’t supposed to stick out like a sore thumb, but Gotti did it anyway.Like Bugsy Siegel, he needed to be a celebrity, so he had to act the part. Unfortunately, his actions and preferences would lead to the end of the mafia’s glory days. Will Manifredi suffer a similar fate?
Fashion Means Something, Both for the Show… and for Stallone
Dwight Manifredi’s outfits are not only pleasing to the eye, butthey also add weight to the characterization. He is generally a flashy person, something his sister even mentions at his brother’s funeral, hence the reason he dresses the way he does. When he first gets out of prison, he is shown to prefer ‘90s style suits, creating a fish-out-of-water aura. He is an old-timer, unfamiliar with the modern world, so he sticks to what he knows. Butwhen he learns about how much things have changed, he makes the necessary adjustments.
Whenever Manifredi is speaking, he keeps straightening his coat or tie, proving how keen he is on looking good. It’s almost like a way to emphasize a point too.Later in the series, his bling becomes a plot point.He hands over his diamond-studded pinky ring to his driver, Tyson,signifying he is moving on. His boss gave him the ring when he was a capo in New York, but he now feels he has grown enough to be his own man.
10 Movie Characters Who Became Fashion Icons
The outfits that characters wear in movies get to live on forever, creating endless fashion inspiration.
Fashion has always meant something to Stallone, and inTulsa King, he deserves equal credit as a costume designer. Apparently,the actor was allowed to pick many elements of his own costumes, including shoes, bolo ties, and jewelry.And according to GQ, he provided most of his character’s costumes inRocky.
“That was my wardrobe! I still have it at home. Yeah! We didn’t have budget for wardrobe. I bought that coat when I was 19 and living in Philadelphia. I bought it at E. J. Korvette for like $32. It was half leather and half something from Korea. When I thought about the character, I went, ‘I got the black pants, the boots.'”
In “TMZ Presents Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons,” Schwarzenegger acknowledges that “dresses better than all of us,” recalling a time theTulsa Kingstar reprimanded him for wearing loose-fitting clothes after the two met on the set ofRocky.
However, the actor has also had his bad fashion moments. At the 1977 Oscars, he was called out for being dressed poorly, but he had an explanation for it.
“At the Oscars, I didn’t have a bow tie on. It had broken. Later I heard people thought I was disrespectful. I woulda tied a shoelace on—something—had I known."
Stallone clearly learned a lot from that incident and has never looked back. Hopefully, he keeps buying those great personal outfits so that we see more of them inTulsa King.
Tulsa King is available to stream in the U.S. on Paramount+
