When two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro agreed to play Frank Costello, the diplomatic mob boss at the center of the new film "The Alto Knights," there was another crucial question left to answer: Who would play Costello's childhood friend turned enemy, mobster Vito Genovese?

The legendary actor’s first attempt at a dual role is all gimmick, no substance in director Barry Levinson’s true-life gangster saga written by "Goodfellas" author Nicholas Pileggi.