Mambo Italiano
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.51 You Save: $12.47 (69%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.44 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Mambo Italiano
Movie Review: Feel-good and meaningful
Summary: 5 Stars
I just really loved it. Very funny. I mean, not actual "laughing out loud" funny, but the kind of funny where you have a huge smile on your face throughout the whole movie. The writing is very good. Such clever writing. Everything is right to the point. That's also a compliment to director, Émile Gaudreault. The pace is so excellently directed that you lose all sense of time. I just loved the plot. It wasn't terribly predictable. Like, I loved how our two lovers don't get together in the end. THAT would have made it trite.
A point that I'm really glad the movie discussed is the "man who is attracted to and wants to be with other men, but not interested in being honest about his life with anyone but his lover." That's what Nino is. Angelo is much more interested in not living a lie, and that's who we come to respect in the movie. It's clear that Nino is not interested in self-dignity, and that's who we feel sorry for.
I also really loved how we see a realistic and detailed view of the process Angelo's parents go through in learning to accept there son. Gay children should show this movie to their parents if they're having trouble accepting their gay children.
The acting is also fabulous. You have to be a very skilled actor to purposefully play a stereotype and at the same time, believe in your character so much that you make this character a real, truthful person that your audience can actually relate to. Every actor does that.
A light, feel-good movie, is what it is. As far as gay-themed movies go, my other recommendations are Big Eden, Come Undone, and Latter Days; although, this stands in a category of quality all on it's on.
Movie Review: HYSTERICALLY funny... no matter what your preference or cultural background!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not going to review the plot... amazon provides a decent one. I'm just going to supply my thoughts on the film.
I first watched Mambo Italiano with my Sicilian mother and both of us almost fell off the couch laughing as we could relate to the characters because he Italian families featured in this film reminded us of our own Italian family... and Gino's mother is the classic Sicilian older woman (she's a lot like my aunts). The plot is out there but not far fetched. It really captures what growing up first generation Italian-American is all about (even though the film is Canadian). Just like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you don't have to be of the culture (Italian, or GLBT) to understand the humor, you just have to be opened minded as it is a GLBT film. I've recommended it to many friends and all have thanked me profusely for the recommendation after they viewed it. But I might add, the film is filled with great one-liners that you might need to be Italian to understand.
Also, I think Paul Sorvino gives a great performance. He plays the father so well, it reminded me of my Roman father. All the characters are great, but Sorvino gives a very convincing performance albeit a comical one. When he says "No one hates my job more than me!" I fall over laughing because I can picture my own father saying that!
Whether you're Italian or not, this movie is a must have and I totally recommend picking it up and viewing it multiple times! It will not fail to make your stomach hurt from laughing.
Movie Review: "Cute"
Summary: 5 Stars
A better-than-average "gay-themed" film, "Mambo Italiano" is one of the better movies that have come out in the last 10 years to explore gay issues in a comedic, lighthearted way. The plot is pretty simple: the story is about a Catholic/Italian family living in beautiful Montreal dealing with their son's recent outing as a homosexual. Although the plot plays like a comedy, the theme is serious in that we see how a religous and old-fashoned family comes to terms with their offspring's sexuality, a sexuality that is still hard for some families to come to terms with. I would suggest this film to anyone who is thinking about coming out of the closet, and I also suggest it to all families who are having a difficult time in accepting their child's homosexuality. What makes a person's gay life so hard for some parents is the fact that these parents have different opinions about a child's chosen path in life. What these parents need to do is to accept that homosexuality is not something one chooses and that in order for someone to be happy they must live their life honestly and openly even if it is against a father or mother's wishes. Mary Walsh, a popular comedian in Canada, steals the film as the mother of a gay cop. Her performance is campy, funny, and hilarious. The DVD is now, unfortunately, out-of-print, but there are a few copies available from private sellers. This is truely a forgotten film that we all should view. The movie has a special place in my DVD collection and I know you will enjoy it.Movie Review: Mambo Italiano
Summary: 5 Stars
Nobody can send up the immigrant Italian experience like an immigrant Italian. They spoof themselves so well because they tell the truth, and the rest of us are afraid to be so truthful lest we wind up in the river wearing cement overshoes.
For example, I remember Joe Dolce singing "Shaddap You Face." And so do you. When this song was popular, Mamma had married into another Italian family, and we'd be at the family-owned pizzeria, and we'd all be drinking beer on tap, and somebody would pop a quarter into the jukebox, and we'd all sing "Shaddap You Face." And hell, I'm not even Italian.
This movie is absolutely hilarious. We were watching this and just cracking up. It was filmed in Canada, and even that was funny. One of the main characters, played by Paul Sorvino, was upset because there are two Americas. The real one, USA, and the fake one, Canada. They moved to Canada from the Old Country because they didn't know any better.
Great, great movie. Oh, you want more? Okay, I got more right here. What's worse than being a gay Italian? Nothing! Fuggetaboutit!
Seriously, it's hard to believe this is only 90 minutes. They covered a lot of ground, because they know it ain't new, and I just want to use the word hilarious again.
Movie Review: A very obvious labor of love for all involved
Summary: 5 Stars
Within minutes of the start of this film, it's obvious what a labor of love that it must have been for all of the parties involved. After all, no one could do work this good without thoroughly enjoying it. And you will, too, I promise! In fact, I don't think I could name a funnier, more perfectly made movie with a gay theme in it, and I've seen them ALL, believe me.
The biggest surprise to me was how much the film could portray ethnic stereotypes so broadly, and maintain such a breakneck pace, without ever wearing out its welcome. Credit for this must go, most of all, to Paul Sorvino who plays the aggrieved father of the young man (whose Coming Out story this is) and Ginette Reno who portrays the mother. Watching the two of them together, pitching and trading their lines with such perfect, lightning fast timing was like seeing an excellent game of tennis, only with huge laughs!
My favorite scene in the whole film comes fairly late, when the parents receive, react to, and debate the best way to respond to the wedding invitation of one of the other characters. I think it was one of the funniest comic scenes I've ever seen in a movie, period--with or without gay subject matter. My very highest recommendations!