Mambo Italiano

I liked the movie for its real (though maybe enhanced for comedic value) portrayal of the complexities and dynamics surrounding homosexuality within a cultural/ethnic setting.

This movie could resonate just as well in any cultural setting because the underlying dynamics are similar. Sure, the script isn't great or the plot isn't outstanding, but the movie is funny, entertaining and strikes a personal chord with me.

I also found the colours to be very vivid and fresh, which added a nice visual effect to the entire movie. Overall, the comparisons to "Big Fat Greek Wedding" are valid and I can see how this is being portrayed as the gay version of that movie.

Maybe it's because I come from Italian heritage that I find this film so funny. I honestly think I laughed out loud during this film one of the highest amounts I've ever belly-laughed during a movie. And you know how you laugh later on in a movie when nothing funny is going on because the thought of something hilarious that happened earlier is still stuck with you? Well that happened plenty of times to me here. I believe that it's because the Southern Italian and Sicilian in me both find fat Italian men to be perhaps the funniest group of people in the world. They are not simply funny because they know how to tell a joke, or they know how to pull off a good pratfall, but more because all you have to do is look at them, and they can make you burst out laughing. There is a scene where Paul Sorvino and Ginette Reno, whom I believe plays his wife, sit close together on a small bench in a cemetery facing the camera, and I suddenly started laughing. They look funny. They don't look weird. They just look like the first thing they say or do is going to make me laugh like a hyena.

Every scene for the first half of the film, literally every single one, contains something explosively funny to me, and they are mostly consisting of native Italians speaking rough English with thick Italian accents and fulfilling stereotypes of ardent cultural traditions. Hands down, the scenes that made me cackle so hard I thought my friend watching it with me was going to slap me for the unreasonable sound that can cause me to make were the scenes that depict what Italian families are like when the son moves out.

Mambo Italiano is also a surprise, because really it doesn't look that good. On the cover of the DVD case, you see a bunch of characters in some comical motion lined up across the cover, and you feel like you could pretty much guess completely what their service to the story is. Well, you'll be vaguely right, but if it wouldn't surprise you too much for me to say this at this point, it's a very poignant film about growing up as a homosexual surrounded by conflicting influences and pressure. The film will actually make you angry at society and the reality of what friends and family can end up doing to you in your life. But it's riotous fun.

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.

This film is about a second generation Italian immigrant having to come to terms with the drastic consequences of coming out of the closet.

This film is unlike any other film I have seen. It is very fast paced, each subplot don't last for more than 1 minute. There is a lot of self narrative. It also shows intersecting events and scenes of relevant characters, which is unusual for a comedy.

The sets are visually rich and appealing, and are always colourful and carefully constructed. The character development is great, and we care about the characters in the film. The script is excellent. The neurotic sister is hilarious. The arguments of the parents are very lively and funny, and are entertaining to watch. The costumes are nice and trendy, but not over the top.

In summary, this film is a lot of fun, very entertaining, humorous, visually appealing, and there is something for everyone! The only gay scene is a half a second kiss, which certainly will not hinder its crossover appeal to the mainstream. This film deserves more recognition than it gets!

In this case truth is "funnier" than fiction. The premise of "Mambo Italiano" - that is, Italian families having to face the vagaries of reality - is certainly a truth, but being Italian-American and viewing this film with my own experiences at hand I can honestly say that this is no fiction. No fiction could be funnier than this. Even if this family's circumstances focus on dealing with the knowledge that their only son is gay, the premise is universal among Italians - life is filled with "catastrophes" but somehow we all survive and hopefully end up better for the process. Call it passion, call it pessimism, call it anything, just call it (this movie) funny. It is a comedy based on tragedy (from the family's point of view), a reverse kind of "Pagliacci", not dark and brooding but colorful (literally filled with color) and humorous - designed for a modern audience. Well cast, well acted, and worth seeing, "Mambo Italiano" can make you laugh and cry (but mostly laugh) at the same time. This is living, Italian style (replete with North American Italian "villas" and statuary). Some say it is a kind of spin-off of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and the protagonist Angelo even implies this at the very end of the film - confirming my impression that this is an honest, open and very enjoyable film.