Kiss Me, Guido

"Kiss Me Guido," written and directed by Tony Vitale, is a little fun piece set in New York's Bronx and lower Manhattan. The light comedy involves mistaken identities, misunderstandings, and mis-pairings, with somewhat stereotypical character types and situations. A sincere and energetic cast is headed by handsome Nick Scotti in an impressive comic performance, and all the players seem to be enjoying themselves with this little romp. I personally found it to be an amusing diversion.

A dumb as bricks Italian Frankie (Nick Scotti) unwittingly moves in with a gay guy Warren (Anthony Barrile). He doesn't know Warren is gay--he thinks GWM means "guy with money"!! He finds out and gets along with Warren...but he knows his family and friends won't accept Warren. What to do?

The jokes are obvious and there are some REALLY bad ones, but I still like this. It has stereotypes galore--Frankie's family especially. Frankie's dumb; his brother is seriously over-sexed (and dumb); his mother is fat, loud and obnoxious; his father is fat and always has stomach pains and the grandmother always dresses in black, is always at the kitchen table and doesn't speak a word of English!

Warren is also stereotyped--his apartment is immaculate, he has art paintings all over the walls and he LOVES Julie Andrews. He also has a very queeny (and very funny) gay best friend.

Still, I was giggling and laughing through this. The movie is so good-natured you can't be offended. And it IS a silly movie anyways. And it has a happy ending.

The acting is all pretty good if a little shrill. Scotti especially comes off well. He's also very handsome and we get a few shots of his muscular chest.

So, not good but fun. A true guilty favorite.

Best line: "You threw up on your shirt".

dumb, with broad stereotypes, but it was quite funny. I spent my first sixteen years in and Italian neighborhood in the Bronx, and the Italian guys are pretty on the mark. I found the gay guys a little too much of a stereotype, but not enough to ruin the film. I also think it is a mistake to call this a gay film. It is really a light comedy with a gay man and an Italian-American man. If you are looking for something PC with a strong social statement on being gay, don't bother with this film. If you have an open mind, time to kill, and want to laugh, this film is pretty good. And yes, I can believe some guy from the Bronx thinking that GWM means "guy with money."

This film is about a straight man looking for a room to rent, and he stumbles upon a room in a gay man's flat.

After misinterpreting what GWM means, the pizza guy with Italian roots view a nice flat inhabited by a gay actor. Both these guys just had relationship troubles, and they both do not understand each others' lifestyles. After tolerance and understanding, they become great friends. Together with the fun supporting characters, and the numerous romantic entanglements, "Kiss Me Guido" is a fun, light hearted film that entertains. Though it's made with a small budget, it doesn't look cheap. the only thing that bothers me is the old fashioned hairstyles that do not age well.

KISS ME GUIDO needs a re write and a remake. It is actually a funny premise fairly well executed, edited and cast...but with far too many stereotypes. Also the sound recording is not good at all. All these negatives still do not outweigh the fact that there is a good movie here waiting to be snazzed up into something played more into the galaxy of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES or PRISCILLA . As a low budget NY gay-ish camp/ Italian comedy it is simple and funny, but seems like a first draft that was made instead of reworking and reinventing and then snaring a better budget and bigger mindset. I like KISS ME GUIDO enough to give it a peck not a smooch. Maybe Tony Vitale can do as I suggest and boost the whole thing up a few octaves and make it bigger and louder and funnier and genuinely raucous. See NORMAN IS THAT YOU from 1976 for pointers....or THE (new musical version) PRODUCERS from Mel Brooks and go there.