Mambo italiano | | Cast : | Luke Kirby, Ginette Reno, Paul Sorvino, Peter Miller (XII) | | Director : | Émile Gaudreault | | Studio : | Columbia Tristar Hom | | Format : | Widescreen, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound | | Released Date : | January 01, 2003 | | DVD Released Date : | February 17, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), English (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 02, 2005 | | Summary | italians abroad | Content
 | Funny, enjoyable story of a gay Italian boy, born in Canada. His loves and his relationship with his family which is made up of stereotyped characters.I think that no Italian would beheave in such funny ways.This is probably how North Americans think the Italians are.
The movie is still amust see.
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| Rating | | | Date | April 25, 2005 | | Summary | It's a comedy, lighten up! | Content
| This movie is, above all, a comedy. The issues of being gay, being in the closet, coming out to family and facing judgment and rejection -- very real issues that gays face -- are present, but couched in fun, silly terms -- which worked for me, actually. The characters were caricatures in many cases -- deliberately so -- which also worked for me. Again, this is a COMEDY, and like Greek Wedding, the plot and characterization were embellished for laughs. Very well done! |
| Rating | | | Date | April 23, 2005 | | Summary | "We leave home two ways - Married or dead" | Content
| Set in Montreal's Little Italy, this cute, colourful, lively, but terribly overacted and stereotypical movie centers on Angelo, (Luke Kirby,) a 27-year-old gay man who seeks to come out to his Italian parents in order for them to stop him from "settling down with a good Italian girl." As Angelo's parents clutch their chests in horror over his new live-in romance with childhood friend Nino, (Peter Miller) they unsurprisingly enter into a scheme with Nino's sexy, devious Sicilian mama (Mary Walsh) in an effort to break up the couple. Lot's of sitcom scenes ensue, involving statements about tolerance and dignity. Most viewers will probably be able to guess that the resolution to the story that will almost certainly be forthrightly upbeat.
Ginette Reno and Paul Sorvino play Angelo's parents, who are a stereotypical combination of generation-specific ignorance and potential enlightenment. Sorvino as Gino, the family patriarch is still mired in much of his traditional life. He's also terribly unsophisticated. He believes in work and family, and he lives by these traditions alone because, for generations, his family has lived by those traditions. When Gino is confronted with his son's homosexuality he has no frame of reference for dealing with it; his old fashioned values obviously conflict with being gay, but he also loves his son dearly and he wants to support him.
The scene-stealers are Mary Walsh as Nino's sexy Sicilian mama and Sophie Lorain as the vixen who's out to set Nino (Peter Miller) straight. They're deliciously over the top, and are used sparingly enough not to wear out their welcome. There's lots of yelling over the dinner table and irreverent head slapping; lots of "organized chaos." And even as the dialogue tends to reduce most of the characters to simple, flat, and hackneyed cardboard cutouts, much of the argumentative banter is surprisingly witty and funny.
Director, Émile Gaudreault does quite a good job of instilling the tensions of homophobia and family pride off of one another in creative, interesting ways. Obviously following one's heart, and having the courage to live openly honestly are the themes of this slight and whimsical film. Mambo Italiano, while not a profound movie, has a good heart and its fun to watch contemporary gayness and traditional Italian-ness eventually find a way to coexist peacefully. Mike Leonard April 05.
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| Rating | | | Date | April 05, 2005 | | Summary | Where's the love? | Content
| Luke Kirby stars as Angelo, the son of conservative Italian Canadians. When Luke's apartment is broken into, its his old schoolmate Nino who takes the call. Nino (whose grown up to be quite gorgeous and hunky), is a police officer. Soon the two become lovers.
I started off enjoying this film. But I soon got annoyed with Angelo, and found this character quite difficult to like. I felt he pretty selfish, determined to have his way no matter what. When asked to do something selfless (such as work the gay hotline), he botches it. Instead of caring about his neurotic sister he seems more concerned with himself. Instead of being sensitive to his boyfriend Nino, he worries only about himself. Angelo seemed immature and annoying rather than someone that might make a good partner.. Bleh.
Nino is likewise no peach. After initiating a romance with Angelo he then procedes to cheat on him, later dumping him for a heterosexual romance. He never fully resolves his feelings for Angelo and this left me with a vague unsatisfied feeling.
I have seen better gay romantic comedies. Nino and Angelo just didn't have any chemistry and didn't work for me as a couple. 3 stars for a fairly average flick. On the upside, the actor who played Nino was quite hot, and made up for most of what the story lacked, but I wished the whole coming out subplot had been dropped in favor of these two finding romance and happiness together.
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| Rating | | | Date | February 27, 2005 | | Summary | cute! | Content
| The movie was cute. It played on Italian and Gay streotypes. and it's pretty much entertaining.
The first half an hour is really funny, then it gets sort of long, but nonetheless still entertaining.
It was pretty much like my big fat greek wedding, but a gay italian version.
I think the movie would have been that much more ejoyable had the actors been cuter. It's a gay comedy, a little eye candy wouldn't hurt. |
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