Character Musings - Izzy and Noogie

[Robbie C.]

Like my earlier post, here's a few thoughts on Vice's favorite (and really only) CIs.

Noogie isn’t as frequent a presence, and he disappears partway through Season 3, but he does play an important visual role. I tend to think he represents (at least unconsciously) the “street hustler” side of Miami. Natives who’d been there forever and did whatever it takes to get by and stay in their community. Charlie Barnett plays Noogie with such gusto it’s hard to tell where he ends and the character begins, and that makes it hard to evaluate his role. But he's an "on the move and on the take" hustler in the purest sense of the word. But unlike Izzy he also seems fairly comfortable where he is.

Izzy is clearly the immigrant experience in Miami, a role carried over from Trini, which is how we first see him. Like Noogie Izzy is a hustler, but we never are really sure if he’s a US citizen or not. He lives on the edges, grasping at a frayed vision of the American Dream and always falling short. His hustles are akin to selling beachfront property that’s actually a swamp (“but it’s near the ocean so that counts”). If you wanted to get really metaphysical, Izzy is what happens when the “greed over all” mantra of the ‘80s is worshiped over all else, ignoring that talent is actually needed to hit those goals (or at least rich parents, which Izzy clearly lacks). Izzy reads Iacocca, but doesn't really understand what it means. Contrast him with Phil in "Phil the Shill" and you see the difference between a successful con man and Izzy.

Both these characters are intended, I think, to provide comic relief and show the kind of people cops have to interact with at times in order to build their cases. They’re dual purpose in that sense. Working with CIs is always an interesting thing, and these two certainly show that. If they’re over the top, maybe that’s because Vice was over the top in many ways as well.

[Bren10]

On Izzy I think in a strange way he is a "part of the family" which is representative of the symbiotic relationship the Vice team has with him.  He's obviously not law enforcement although he assists them, and he's not the worst criminal even though he is one, but he is a part of the whole machine.  He's like the misfit ne'er do well distant cousin. He clearly at times considers himself a part of the team's existence as demonstrated in Bullet For Crockett.  Off the top of my head I don't really remember any money changing hands between C & T and Izzy for information either. And as much of a hard time as they give him, the team seems to always wind up taking care of him in the end.  Miracle Man was an example of their empathy for him if I remember right, as bad of an episode as that was.  I actually think Izzy may possess more talent than meets the eye to achieve goals but he simply won't take the honest (and longer) route to achieve them.  Instead he is always looking for a shortcut to success and his attention span in regards to the latest project is very short which is one of the reasons why he's always got a new scheme.  If he put as much effort into a long-term legitimate enterprise as he does in deceiving people he might actually achieve something of merit.

[Robbie C.]

They let him off regularly, which pretty much counts as payment in my book. And covered for him with his parole officer by not reporting him. I agree he's part of the family in that sense, but most informants are to some degree. Noogie was in his way, but he didn't last long enough to settle into the same role.

[Bren10]

I agree, but I also think there is a part of Izzy that doesn't mind not being paid materialistically as long as he gets to be included.  I think part of his self-worth is tied into people coming to him for help.  It validates his importance, real or imagined.