Real Mafioso gang leaders probably wouldn't share their desire to do the bedroom bossa nova with a friend's mother.

And if they did it probably wouldn't be nearly as funny as the play "How Ya Doin', Franky Banana?"

The two-act play is showing at the Creole Gallery, 1218 Turner St. in Lansing, and is filled to the brim with sophomoric jokes about sex, violence and racism.

The play surrounds gangsters Gus, Bobby and Victor and their idiotic attempts to become big-time thugs.

To put it bluntly, if their brains were perfume, you wouldn't be able to smell them through a barbed-wire fence.

The characters act like an R-rated version of the 1930s comedy act Dead End Kids with every joke resulting in a smack to the head or at the very least, the threat of violence.

But slapstick can go from funny to unfunny pretty quick.

Where the play's flaws start is in some of its raunchy jokes.

People can easily see where foul language has been inserted just for the sake of saying it in public.

The actors do a marvelous job at delivering the lines with good timing, but even the most well-timed joke can fail if it isn't funny.

A pretty good example of this is when the gang holds up the ashes of the now dead Franky Banana.

The gangster died as a result of his poor diet, which consisted of nothing but cigarette butts and beer bottles.

The scene is just plain goofy.

But the dialogue does pick up, especially during the conversations between characters that take place over trivial facts and misunderstandings.

One scene in particular is the conversation about liver and chicken between characters Bobby and Mrs. V.

The Abbot and Costello-like dialogue has been done before but works well here.

The simple misunderstanding can be likened to scene characteristic of a George S. Kauffman script with its quick humor and word play.

The major characters are also well cast and played by local actors.

Daryl Thompson, a 1999 MSU alumnus, shows just how good of a character actor he is by playing Bobby.

Thompson performs with a kind of Steve Buscemi quality. Even Bobby's vulgar obsession with Victor's mother becomes comical in his portrayal of the gangster, especially when he yells his "balls are filled with love" for her.

Mark Gmazel, who plays Gus, also perfected the stage persona of the big guy with the tiny brain.

The character of Gus lies somewhere between Curly from "The Three Stooges" and Luca Brasi from "The Godfather."

Gmazel does an excellent job of capturing the idiotic thug, arguing with Bobby about what his orders were and throwing tantrums when the gang's leader punishes him.

Journalism senior Allan Ross plays Victor, the leader of the three and straight man to Bobby and Gus.

Ross does well keeping up with Gmazel and Thompson's constant jabber and bickering. Ross' character has little to do with the plot other than to boss Gus and Bobby around.

He doesn't particularly stand out in the hour-long play and is a little rigid on stage when compared to the Gmazel and Thompson.

In all, the small production is worth a Saturday night.

Audience members shouldn't be able to sit straight faced through the hilarious jabs at the stereotype of gangsters and the Mafia.

If low-brow humor gets you guffawing then "How Ya Doin', Franky Banana?" is a definite recommendation.

If you liked this, you might also like: Anything along the lines of "Reservoir Dogs."

Suggested Viewing: Unless your girlfriend has a raunchy sense of humor, find a few good buddies to go with you. And downing a few pilsners beforehand probably won't hurt.