Friends and Family

The cliche? A surprise visit from Mom and Dad sends a gay couple into a tizzy. The twist? Mom and Dad KNOW Stephen & Danny are happy and gay and have no problem with it--what they DON'T know is that they work for the mafia--the Patrizzi family, as enforcers and bodyguards. In this surprise parental visit, the ruse is not acting heterosexual for Mom & Dad but acting like, well, caterers. Throw in an unexpected visit from the militia, a fierce drag queen or two and mob enforcers acting like gay cater-waiters and hilarity ensues.

This visit scenario is but one way in which this film shows and old dog some very funny new tricks. Make no mistake--this is a farcical, screwball comedy with broad humor and somewhat unbelievable situations, but it goes for the laughs and usually gets them. The writing is crisp and intelligent, the sub-plots funny and well-defined and the acting uniformly excellent, with Tony LoBianco's "Don Patrizzi" an understated stand-out.

The underlying twists--fathers disappointed in sons, secrets kept from family members, "mixed marriages" and such are played for laughs, and almost always differently than we have seen these themes played out in other films. The film does not take itself too seriously, yet it has a sweet message of love and romance and truth to ones own ideals that runs throughout and helps us get more out of the film than just laughs.

Friends & Family had a regional premiere at Austin's 14th annual Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival in September, 2001, where it played to packed houses on two nights, but this film deserves mainstream release. It is unrated, but might garner a PG-13--it has little coarse language, sexually suggestive scenes or violence (save the cartoonish sort), and is a film I would readily take my 13 year old niece and nephew to as well as Mom and Dad. Tovah Feldshuh, Anna Maria Alberghetti and Mesach Taylor co-star.

The gay characters are likable, fairly realistic, and actually the heroes of the story; the film might well serve to introduce an awareness and tolerance that is often lacking in film (and in life).

While it does provoke the occasional laugh -- and the actors give it their best, particularly Anna Maria Alberghetti -- "Friends and Family" is a mess. The film- makers couldn't decide what kind of film they wanted: a screwball comedy,

a gay farce, a social commentary, or a love story. The result is a

very unsatisfying mix of them all with the pleasures of none. The tone jumps all over the place, most of the numerous plotlines make no sense, and too many of the supposed jokes fall flat. Yes, the gay couple is nice eye candy, but that was far too little payoff for suffering through this turkey.

Let me start by saying that Friends and Family is not a "great" film, or anything like it. But it is a very entertaining film, with lots of good jokes (usually in the 6-8 range on a scale of 1-10 for jokes) and it has another terrific performance by the amazing Tovah Feldshuh (she also gave one of the great -- and unacknowledged -- performances of the year in 2001 in "Dating Jessica Stein"). She seems to be a blessing for gay themed movies, but I'd really love to see her in lots of other stuff.

Someone else's review mentioned something about the jokes being insidery gay. Don't be misled by that comment. I think everyone will get the Judy Garland and Elizabeth Taylor references, etc. I mean, at this point, is there anyone under the age of 60 who doesn't understand camp humor? I don't think so.

Only arguable problem -- the gay couple is a little too "sterile." Sure they look good together and they have the same bedroom, but I don't think we get to see a kiss or even handholding. So from a Gay P.C. point of view it's a little too "Will & Grace."

Anyway, it's fun, it's broad, there are some good-looking guys but it's very PG (BRING THE KIDS!!!) the time flies by and you leave the theatre happy. All that for $6-11 (depending on what part of the country you live in.) What a bargain!

The main idea of this movie - gay couple in mafia - was interesting and this alone could make a good movie with the parents facing their son as a killer for mafia. But some things made the movie so stupid, that it felt almost like the writer got drunk, wrote some "funny" lines and a movie was made. I'm talking about the military parents. If the producers cut this part off the movie they could save some money on the bad actors portraying the militants and invest it to improving the script.

And the usual complain: no kiss and except for the last scene, there was no touch between the gay couple. But to be impartial, the other people in the movies didn't kiss as well.

I saw this uproariously funny little film this summer and bought it as soon as it came out on video. What a breath of fresh air it is to see a movie that goes back to the basics of classic comedy rather than pandering to the current vogue of substituting posing and attitude for genuine humor. The plot revolves around a gay couple who are hitmen for the Mafia, but don't expect a one-joke film that caters to stereotypes. Instead, expect several wacky but seamlessly interwoven plotlines that are handled in the style of the old screwball comedies, with wit and panache. And one of the film's strongest elements is the way it sends up and subverts stereotypes rather than exploit them.

I've read some criticisms of this film because the two guys don't kiss. Well, I'm a gay man and in a long-term relationship and I thought this was one of the most convincing, affectionate and natural portrayals of a gay couple in memory. Obviously, the couple has a sex life, but we don't have to see it. And the final love scene (without a kiss) was one of the most erotic, beautiful things I've seen in any recent movie, gay or straight.