Mambo Italiano

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...)

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!

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 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.

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.