Miami Vice (TV Series) Florence Italy (1986) User Reviews

Tragedy and fast cars

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 24 November 2009]

While this was still good compared to a lot of stuff on TV it felt weaker than most of the previous episodes in the season of Miami Vice. The start was very strong with a pretty young prostitute being picked up by somebody in a Porsche 906, shortly after she is picked up Crockett and Tubbs see the car speeding and give chase, they are forced to stop their pursuit when the girl's body is thrown from the car. We learn that the girl was going by the name of Florence Italy, hence the title. Since the car is so distinctive they soon have a chief suspect although he claims the car was stolen.

This is where the story get a bit weak, in order to confirm his alibi Crockett and Tubbs go undercover at a party for those involved in an upcoming road race, it all seemed rather frivolous after a brutal murder and the bike race between the suspect and his father while exciting to watch felt like it was there because it would look good not because it would add to the story.

It is a pity the episode couldn't live up to the great start, although it is hard to beat a night race between two cool cars. The acting didn't seem bad to me, I had no idea that Danny Sullivan, the person playing chief suspect Danny Tepper, was a racing driver not an actor till I saw other reviews here.

Eeee!

[mm-39 · 6/10 · 13 August 2018]

More for the auto racing fans. There is the Miami Grand Prix and a murdered hooker all mixed into one. Florence Italy starts out with the usual Vice operation in the red light district. A murder, a fast car chase and the smell of burnt rubber mixed with engine performance sounds is the hook for the viewer to watch. Investigating is regrettably mixed with the auto race scene with a lot of Grand Prix fillers. There is a good mix of music with a ending car chase with a surprise plot twist which is okay but no memorable. Over an entertaining episode but eee just another episode. The ending has the surprise Michael Mann finish which is great, but the rest the episode grinds into the lower gears! 6 out of 10 stars. Florence Italy finishes mid in the back for a great series.

Not really that bad

[xbatgirl-30029 · 7/10 · 18 June 2021]

Big question: was there a very brief Susanna Hoffs cameo as a hooker at the start of this episode? Or was she a lookalike?

As for the episode, yes, Danny Sullivan is terrible as an actor. At first you think, well this is just a cameo, then we'll get on with the show. But then you realize he's actually a main character and is sadly sticking around. And can the script get any more of an eye rolling stereotyped as when you find out his character's wife was supposedly off having his child while he's playing around racing motorcycles? "Who hoo, it's a boy!" Yeesh.

Later his wife, still in the hospital, has to spend all her energy catering to his emotional needs after his car was stolen and used in a murder. Overall, it makes no sense that he's so unwilling to help the cops if he's innocent. Does he suspect his dad? We never really know. His dad later has a big announcement that he has no idea if they're actually related - with no reaction from Danny. It is super bad writing. Then there's the shoehorned in scene with the "racer chaser" who apparently spent months in the hospital after being beaten up - I guess by the dad? And she's too terrified of him to talk? We never actually see any part of his character that hints of this. This whole part of the show is all rather dumb.

Also, it's hilarious that Crockett & Tubbs just start chasing the Porsche around town without ever identifying themselves as cops. No siren. No calling for backup. For all the driver would know, some wackos just want to race. But I guess us viewers are supposedly to be drooling over loud cars driving fast to care.

Charles Rockett makes the episode though. He dominates every scene he's in and was always fun to watch. His silk pajama-type outfit is perfectly hilariously 80s. Very bizarre that he was hired for such a small part. You think he has to be involved in the crime since he's the biggest name in the episode. It's almost like this episode could have been 2 hours and half the script was cut out.

The various street people are hilarious and characteristic of what makes Miami Vice unique. I remember seeing Alix Elias a lot back in the day and she's really fun in a small role as a whiny bakery owner. Zito briefly looks like a different person with feathered, short hair and hot pink shirt tucked into pleated pants. Was that John Diehl in as himself, instead of Zito? Guessing he's been busy off making movies in real life.

There is one astoundingly, jaw dropping mullet here that has to been seen to be believed. Also, um, they don't actually wreck the race car at the end, for those complaining about it. It's a camera slowly going toward a wall and a bad effect of broken glass. That's it. An oddly unsatisfying ending.

You can practically smell the petrol, oil and testosterone in the air!

[DVD_Connoisseur · 9/10 · 17 August 2007]

"Florence Italy" is a wonderful, testosterone-filled episode from series two. Starting with a wonderful car chase between Crockett in his Ferrari and an unknown killer in his racing Porsche, accompanied by the John Parr track "Naughty Naughty", this is escapist, boys' toys entertainment.

The murder of a young teenage prostitute, Florence Italy, by the unknown driver of Danny Tepper's Porsche, leads Crockett and Tubbs to go undercover in the glamorous world of Grand Prix racing. The real Miami Grand Prix acts as a wonderfully authentic background tapestry for this episode.

Real-life racer and winner of the 1985 Indianapolis 500, Danny Sullivan plays Tepper and Stephen Joyce plays his father. Marilyn Romero is the ill-fated title character. "Florence Italy" also contains the second appearance of Annie Golden as Crockett's mechanic, Tommy.

Although having a relatively light-weight plot (largely due to numerous re-writes and changes of writer), "Florence Italy" remains a great episode of the show. It's exciting and the visuals are tremendous. You can almost smell the petrol and oil from the many cars on display! 9 out of 10.

Florence and Miami

[Tarcisio_Fonseca · 8/10 · 26 February 2009]

The curiosity is the name of the victim, Florence. It is a very beautiful city of Italy. I watched the episode yesterday (Feb/29/2009)and the standard end of Miami Vice's episode was there: dry cut. A car crash the wall. Unfortunately the GP of Miami for IMSA GTP cars did not have many editions. Another positive point of the show were the comments of Tubbs and Crockett, sometimes ironic, sometimes bitter. In Brazil it is showing by Rede Brasil, Monday to Friday, 20:00. In New York it is 6:00 PM ET. Sometimes the show had good special participations like Willie Nelson (a Texas Ranger) and Glenn Frey (a freelancer airman).

Race Car Drivers Turn Actors

[ccthemovieman-1 · 5/10 · 8 September 2007]

One of the drawbacks in the Miami Vice series was that they were so caught up in having other celebrities on their program that it hurt the professionalism of the show, meaning they had amateur actors.....and it shows. That's the case here with Danny Sullivan, a race car driver in the mid '80s - who won the Indy 500 the year before in 1985 - playing one of the main characters. He may be a great driver and a handsome guy....but he is NO actor. He sounds wooden and it takes away from the credibility of the show. I've seen this musicians, singers and other people on Miami Vice. Some were good, but most were bad.

Anyway, since the Miami Grand Prix is featured in this story of a dead 17-year-old hooker named "Florence Italy," we get a bunch of real-life auto racers in the episode. The question is, "Who killed the young girl? Crockett and Tubbs pose as possible Prix sponsors to find out.

For those who love Formula I driving, or least the fabulous white Porsche chased by Crockett and Tubbs, this show will mean more than to the non-racing fan.

I had to laugh seeing Annie Golden in here as grease-monkey "Tommy." To me, she will always be the nerdy woman who was in love with ultra-nerd "Cliff Claven" of television's "Cheers."

Overall, some fairly good race action (including a motorcycle race in a parking ramp) but terrible dialog and acting and an overall really dumb show. Don Johnson's peach shoes and pants look a little weird, but at least the cars still look cool, even 20 years later. Some things never change.

Racing episode has a flat tire

[Fluke_Skywalker · 5/10 · 11 April 2017]

Plot; When a young prostitute is murdered, the evidence points to a young race car driver in town for the Miami Grand Prix.

Miami Vice and auto racing would seem to be a marriage made in Heaven (or at least Hollywood), but not so here. Saddled with a paint by numbers plot and a wooden performance from guest star Danny Sullivan (a real life driver who should've stuck to racing) leaves this episode nowhere near victory lane.

Stunt casting can't make up for weak story

[Mr-Fusion · 5/10 · 15 June 2017]

'Florence Italy': part I of the show's mercifully brief foray into casting real-life sports stars. And it's a yawner.

It starts out well enough with the use of John Parr's "Naughty Naughty", but it's a by-the-numbers murder mystery after that. You can't put all the blame at Danny Sullivan's doorstep because it's not very well written from the get-go. But the casting really doesn't help. Put it this way: not even multiple chase scenes and a third act full of Grand Prix footage can liven things up. Although they do try.

5/10