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23 out of 28 people found the following review useful: Not for clueless heteros or over-sensitive Italians, 17 October 2003 Author: pyotr-3 from Washington DC
This very clever and fun little film has had more off-base reviews written about it than any film in history. Way too many reviewers react with horror at - gasp - stereotypical representations of Italians. They neglect the fact that in actual fact the Italian-ness is 100% of the charm and beauty of the film, and that not one of the Italians are not people we have all seen in real life. They also neglect the fact that Italian culture and tradition has seldom looked so good or as real as it does in "Mambo Italiano." The Italian sister is heroic in her actions, and the Italian parents who come around in he end are just like parents of ANY nationality. I really fail to see what all the squawking about "negative stereotypes" is all about.As a Southerner and as a gay man I know something about stereotyping. All groups get stereotyped. This is not necessarily a bad thing, unless it is the ONLY representation of a group that society ever sees. We all need to see the true diversity of any group. I think we have all seen plenty of other Italians and gay persons now, so we don't have to worry that a viewer will see this movie and assume that all Italians and gay men are like the folks in "Mambo Italiano." But frankly, if they did, I think they would have rather positive images of Italians. Unfortunately they would leave the theater thinking that half of all gay men get married to women in order to hide the fact that they are gay. Luckily I suspect most folks know this is not the case, though it certainly does happen, since society still makes it impossible for some of us to stay in certain professions and be gay at the same time (cops, firemen, coaches, soldiers in the U.S., pro athletes...)."Mambo Italiano" is hilarious and light-hearted. It is a big mistake to try to read too much into it. Just sit back, relax, and laugh. It is one heck of a clever, funny little film, with a surprise ending. Betcha can't guess how it ends!
16 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Pleasantly Suprising, 1 November 2003 Author: Scott Hoeninger (ScoHoe1982) from Chicago, IL
I decided to see this film because I had nothing else to do. I wasn't expecting much more than gay stereotypes and ridiculous humor. However I discovered just the opposite.I have heard comparisons to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", but the only similarity I see is in the stereotypical presentation of nationalities. However, these stereotypes aren't offensive, but more so delightful and some what sweet.Angelo (Luke Kirby) is presented with just enough humor, but more so just enough heart that it makes the character beleiveable. For once gays are not presented as obnoxious drag queens or someone dying from AIDS. In fact, the two latter factions are not even present in the film. Instead it focuses on one mans humorous journey of self discovery in both relations to his family, partner, and his own sexuality.At the end of the film, you leave feeling very happy. Sure everything turned out for the best in the end, but sometimes we need films like this to remind just how fun and quirky life can be at times.
17 out of 19 people found the following review useful: An amusing film about Italians abroad, 3 September 2005 Author: nicolaborrelli76 from Naples, Italy
I watched this film at the cinema last year, and I found it very funny. As an Italian-born male, sentences like " Italians move out either when they marry or when they die" made me really laugh, because this is partly true! Nevertheless, I think there's something which needs making clear. The characters and situations portrayed in the film are credible and hilarious insofar as they're set in the Italian communities of Canada, USA or Australia. I worked for 4 years in the export department of a company making Italian espresso coffee, thus getting in touch with lots of Italians who had settled in faraway countries many years ago. What I noticed is that most of them retain a picture of Italy and a system of values which were real in the country they left behind years ago, but look old-fashioned and rather over-the-top in today's Italy. I think it's undeniable that ethnic communities abroad are more conservative and traditional than the countries they came from, as they cling to values that, though being "frozen" for them, have evolved in the meantime. So some characters and situations of the film appear exaggerated if compared with Italians of 2005, but are really amusing if set in the context of the life of Italian immigrants, who represent what we used to be a few decades ago. A light comedy, to be enjoyed without taking ourselves too seriously.
13 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Non ce male! (That means you'll like it), 6 June 2003 Author: bxc85 from Almaty Chamber of Commerce
As an east end, English speaking Montrealer not of Italian origin but always among Italians, this film struck a chord with me. It's about a perpetual outsider named Angelo, played by Luke Kirby (his acting skill is phenomenal; casting directors, take note, his face is so expressive that words fail in attempting to describe it, a real cinema actor). This hilarious film is about Angelo's trials and tribulations, striving to find his voice as a writer while the worlds around him, both old and new, are more earthbound and mundane. His parents (portrayed by Paul Sorvino and Ginette Reno) rise above stereotypes and seem quite believable (believe me, I know). The gay issue, which meant that the screening I attended in St. Leo was mainly young women whose boyfriends couldn't be dragged to a movie about "salsicce-eaters," was dealt with a tact and humility that is rare in even supposedly pro-gay films and TV shows. Angelo is a man who likes men, but so what? He feels pain, he loves, and he yearns; he's not some camp stereotype, nor is he some quirky sidekick with no personal problems. His sister Anna (also well played by Claudia Ferri) could have a whole movie to herself, with her constant battles with the parents' leaving her a valium-popping mental car wreck. Then there is Nino, Angelo's boyfriend. He struggles with his identity too (gay cop isn't exactly as popular a job as systems analyst), and is in some respects more complex a character than Angelo. However, he is not the focus of the movie.Though the trailers make this look like a vain attempt to make a Canadian/Italian answer to the visually much duller My Big Fat Greek Wedding, this is not the case. Playwright Steve Gallucio collaborated on the screen version with director Emile Gaudrealt, ensuring faithfulness to the excellent original while ensuring that the film has a definite cinematic flair. The colours are are as vivid as the characterisations, the only drawback in the latter being that there are not too many Italians in the principle cast. Mary Walsh, though quite funny and recognizable to the 2 or 3 Canadians who actually watch the CBC, is definitely not Sicilian.That being said, the movie has far fewer limitations than strengths. It has funny moments, and it has daringly dark moments. I don't want to give away too much, as I want as many people to see this as possible. My only real complaint is that the parents' house in St. Leo didn't have a statue of the Virgin Mary out front. All in all, please watch this film.
11 out of 14 people found the following review useful: *To Bi or Not to Bi?*, 29 January 2005 Author: rbrb
A hilariously funny and thoughtful movie!Gay guys lovers both in repressive families face the pressures of "coming out". Can they survive or will one with a dominating mother and job as a cop be forced to live a lie and the life of a straight?Scene after scene is highly entertaining. The movie has an excellent script, is beautifully filmed and deserves top marks.The family of the guys give first class performances as do all the players and there are so many super scenes, my favorite is when one of the guys tries to assist on a gay helpline.On a more serious note-can only speculate the number of gays, male and female, forced through homophobia and pressure to be in relationships they don't want.10 out of 10.
12 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Funniest film around, 11 December 2003 Author: c_live_n from London, England
This is the one film of the year I would recommend to anyone who wants a good laugh. Ignore the po-faced people who did not enjoy it and prepare yourself for an over-the-top stereotypical portrayal of "chaotic yet serene" ethnics in the wrong province in the wrong country. It is well-scripted and well-edited and the timing of the actors and director never fails. If you want to find out about real gay life or Italian Quebeckers, this is not the film to see; it is just an excellent comedy with plenty of gems - and good comedies are few and far between nowadays.
10 out of 15 people found the following review useful: 100% entertainment & 100% gay positive, 15 October 2003 Author: John Frame (jvframe@ozemail.com.au) from Brisbane, Australia
I saw a preview session of the Canadian romantic comedy Mambo Italiano last night (15th Oct '03) and this really is one of the very best gay themed films I've seen - and equally well suited to both a young and older audience. I went to the preview because it had a gay theme - but quickly realised there's a lot more on offer - and a great deal of the film is about family and tradition. It's made with absolute honesty in regard to it's gay content, and as such is neither opportunistic nor preachy.Mambo Italiano successfully avoids all likely clichés with a beautifully crafted script, first class acting and some of the best editing I've seen in any motion picture. And it looks spectacular - verging on surreal.I thought it was wonderful that the predominantly young and mixed (and presumably straight) crowd all laughed, swooned, sobbed and cringed - although not all at the same time - proving that there are a lot of angles to this film which will appeal to a very broad audience.Mambo Italiano is the best time I've had in a movie theatre in the last couple of years - and it thoroughly deserves commercial success.I like that the TV adverts are give none of the film away, in fact understating how good it really is. You'll be surprised - it's the sort of film you'd love to see twice. "Gayline" telephone counsellors around the globe will have to forgive one aspect of the plot (the lack of adequate training before going on-line), but they'll get a kick out of the fact that they're a key plot line.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: This is another version of ABE'S IRISH ROSE, 14 April 2007 Author: Jay Harris (sirbossman6969@yahoo.com) from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Nearly all the reviewers saw a different film than I did, Granted that the 2 main characters are guys & not male & female, This is not a GAY themed film. It is about straight peoples reactions & its affect on 2 nice gay ?? men,.It is as I stated above, another incarnation Abe's Irish Rose.the 1920's hit comedy play about a Jewish Guy & an Irisg girl & there respective lovable but bigoted family.This time we have Angelo & Gino. Angelo is GAY & Gino is(as we find out) Bi-sexual. Two real nice Italian lads with real nice but ever so bigoted parents.This is based on a play based on the life of the author.I will not dispute this, BUT it is another incarnation of ABE'S IRISH ROSE written in the 1920's.The setting for this film is Canada, thru do mention that they are Canadians more than once.It is nicely acted & well made, I liked everyone in it & I think you will as well. Paul Sorvino is the best known name in film & as usual he is great.see this for a pleasant non-taxing evening.ratings ***(out of 4) 84 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 ( out of 10)
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: One thinks it's easy to be gay in Canada - and is mistaken!, 4 September 2006 Author: karhukissa from Hungary
Unlike some other commentators, I knew nothing about this film except it's a comedy about gay men. So I didn't expect much, but got all the more! First of all, I was glad to see that the main character was neither the classic handsome Hollywood macho, nor a feminine gay man but just an average-looking young guy. The other guy does look more cliché, but then he's the one who ends up in the closet, feeling guilty about being gay. The acting is superb throughout the film.Someone commented that it's not all that funny. Well, it's true - coming out and breaking up with family or your lover are always painful, and I don't like films which ignore this side of the story. If you're deeply touched by Angelo's story, then it has performed the task such films, I think, are supposed to do: to make the audience more sensitive to gay people's issues. At the same time, though, it's pretty funny - just like your own coming out is often funny looking back. The confession scene is hilarious, and I laughed my heart out at the gay helpline scene - working for a GLBT helpline myself, I can assure you: this is just as distorted as the image of the Italian community. (We could use that scene for training purposes, though: what not to do...)
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Under-appreciated gem I wish I'd found sooner., 15 September 2006 Author: natalie from Singapore
I absolutely adored this movie. The languid pace may get to you, especially when they've finished chronicling Angelo's life and you realize less than a third of the movie is over, but it is very much worth the watch. It's really more a character piece than a typical plot-driven film, and it's done so well that you just want to watch it again.The actors were well-casted, and they had an amazing chemistry as a family that brought the sometimes flat movie to life. And the interaction at different levels of a relationship between different people, like Angelo's parents, Angelo and Nino, Angelo and his sister (Claudia Ferri), before and after his coming out, was spot-on. Everyone was affected, adversely, and it changed the way they acted around and towards one another. The subtle changes, the epiphanies -- Mambo Italiano did an incredible job making you feel for all its characters, diverse though they were.It also managed to capture the essence of all the characters' relationships, and moments during which those relationships evolved, seamlessly: one of the best examples is the scene where Angelo's parents are in the garden a while after Angelo and Nino break up in their living room, and Angelo's mother asks if they still love their son. The father replies, of course, he is their son. The mother then asks, tearfully, why it's so difficult to pick up the phone and call him if they still love him.Then there's the scene where post-breakup Nino visits Angelo after hearing from his mother that Angelo's seeing someone new, and the way they talk to each other and look at each other is absolutely heart-wrenching, full of regret and longing and I-wish-this-was-different. It really made me sit up and take notice and think, yeah, that could happen. I see why they're doing this, why they're being unreasonable or stubborn or moody.That's what I loved most about this film; the realism. It's something I'm always looking for on screen that a lot of the time is sorely lacking. I'm not talking about realism in the literal sense; have at your light sabers and dinosaurs and reviving dead bodies, but make me believe it. Look at Lord of the Rings: it's realistic, because the actors make you feel like you're watching real people even when they're fighting ghostly images that you know they don't see.Watching this movie, I never felt as though someone was reacting in a way that was exaggerated, or unbelievable, just to incite humor, and that's one of the main reasons it kept me so engaged and so amused. It felt like I was watching the someone's true life story (to be honest, I think a lot of people go through the same thing that Angelo does, though in different ethnic settings, of course) and I laughed not because the plot stretched the truth, but because it embodied it.There was a scene in the film itself that reflected this: the only script that Angelo wrote that got produced was the one he wrote about his family and their daily interaction. When his parents went to watch the studio filming they laughed so hard I thought they were going to start bawling. That was the beauty of this movie. And despite the almost-too-sweet ending, where everyone's happy in their new life, Nino with his wife and Angelo with his new boyfriend and his accepting family, it's not sappy or corny. Predictable? Maybe. But boring? Never.This is, without doubt, an under-appreciated gem. Believable acting, superb script, incredible chemistry; it fulfilled just about everything I ask for when watching a movie. I only wish I had gotten my hands on it sooner.
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