Posts Tagged ‘Mafia Mamma’

CFRA IN OTTAWA: THE BILL CARROLL MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!

I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres including the horror comedy “Renfield,” the coming-of-middle-age story “Mafia Mamma” and the coming-of-middle-age story and the Michelle Williams dramedy “Showing Up.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

MAFIA MAMMA: 3 STARS. “Like ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ but with 100% more gunplay.”

“Mafia Mamma,” a new action comedy starring Toni Collette now playing in theatres, is a coming-of-middle-age story about a suburban woman who travels to Italy for the reading of her grandfather’s will, and accidentally gets her groove back.

Collette is Kristin Balbano, a chatty American advertising executive whose life changes in an instant when her phone rings, long distance from Wurope. On the other end of the line is Bianca (Monica Bellucci), consigliere for the Balbano crime family. “Your grandfather is dead,” she says. “You need to settle his affairs. You’ll fly to Italy tomorrow night.”

Although she’s always wanted to go to Rome, Kristin can’t leave at such short notice. “Everything is crazy at work and my husband needs me.” Besides, she wasn’t close with her grandfather. In fact, they never met.

She has a change of heart, however, when, while still on the phone, she catches her husband cheating on her with their son’s guidance counselor.

Her marriage in tatters, she figures some time away would be a tonic and accepts Bianca’s offer. It isn’t until she arrives in Rome for the funeral that she learns she is one of her grandfather’s only blood relatives, and is next in line to run the family business. Even though the old crew isn’t impressed by her—”How are we supposed to appear strong when she is dressed like a librarian?”—she reluctantly steps into the lead role.

Unfortunately, the business is under siege, involved in a turf war with a rival family. As assassins circle around, Kristin discovers a new life as decides whether she can run a crime organization and still be the good person she always thought she was.

“It’s not about losing yourself,” says Bianca. “It’s about becoming yourself.”

“Mafia Mamma” is like “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” and “Eat, Pray, Love” only with 100% more gunplay and slapstick violence. Kristen’s story of personal awakening and empowerment is predictable, played at a sit com level, but Collette’s easy charm counts for something. Her broad comedic approach wrings laughs out of the material. Whether she is killing a baddie with a stiletto, or admitting to never having seen “The Godfather” because, “It’s really hard to find three-and-a-half hours,” she elevates this standard fish out of water tale.

The story of a woman fighting sexism and an old-school male-centric system doesn’t offer much in the way of surprises, but it does so with a fair amount of enthusiasm.