Posted in: Movies, Review | Tagged: comedy, independent film, Michelle Danner, The Italians, vod
Michelle Danner’s The Italians is an intimate family comedy about a family crisis when a son brings his girlfriend to dinner and chaos ensues.
Article Summary
- The Italians is a comedic look at an Italian-American family dinner turned chaotic when a new girlfriend arrives.
- Michelle Danner directs and stars as the fiery matriarch facing culture clash, food drama, and loud family love.
- The film mines humor from real Italian family traditions and stereotypes that ring true and heartfelt.
- This indie comedy is a slice-of-life farce, perfect for fans of family antics and authentic cultural stories.
▶” style=”border: 0px;” allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; fullscreen;” loading=”lazy” src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/1C6T1kNjb6Q?start=41&feature=oembed” title=”Youtube Video”>
Michelle Danner‘s independent movie The Italians is an intimate comedy about minor chaos that feels like an epic crisis because everyone shouts at each other louder than they usually do. Fiery matriarch Angelina Vitali (Danner) and her oafish husband Vincenzo (Rob Estes) welcome their charming son Nico (Matthew Daddario) and his new girlfriend Lily (Abigail Breslin) for a family dinner, only to be appalled that she’s 1) not Italian, 2) she doesn’t eat meat, and 3) she doesn’t seem to eat much and doesn’t appear to even like eating. Has Nico lost his mind? Has he been bewitched by this unworthy siren? Things get even worse the next day when everyone in the family’s orbit are drawn into Angelina’s new mission to break up Nico and Lily, from next door neighbors Min (Perrey Reeves) and Murray (Lan Blayne) to Angelina’s brother Sal (David DeLuise), their mother Lucia (Lanie Kazan) as well as Nico’s ex-girlfriend Geena (Olivia Luccardi) and the local priest Father Joe (Luca Riemma).
At first glance, you might think everyone in The Italians was a sitcom stereotype, but there’s a ring of authenticity and lived experience behind them all. Anyone who’s Italian-American or knows them would get that for Italians, food is their expression of familial love, and to turn it down can be a slap in the face. A guest to their household should never declare so proudly that they’re vegetarian to a house full of meat eaters whose matriarch takes pride in her cooking. Shouting, bickering, and drama is also how families like the Vitalis express their love for each other, no matter how exasperating it gets, and that’s a seemingly stereotypical behaviour drawn from experience that both writer-actor Danner and her screenwriter Lisa Visca have firsthand knowledge of. It’s not an edgy or transgressive comedy but a familiar slice-of-life farce where, by the end, all’s well that ends well, and that’s all it wants to do.
Intimate comedies like The Italians used to be the lifeblood of low-budget films and TV movies. They’re not out to blow up the world, hammer you with a message, or declare arthouse auteurism. It is mainstream, just wants to tell a story of everyday folk based on personal life experience with some laughs and reassurance. If you don’t know any Italian families, you will after you watch this movie. They’re not all this loud. Promise.
The Italians is on VOD.
The Italians
Review by Adi Tantimedh
7.5/10
An intimate comedy about minor chaos that feels like an epic crisis because everyone shouts at each other louder than they usually do. Films like this used to be the lifeblood of low budget films and TV movies. They’re not out to blow up the world or hammer you with a message or declare arthouse auteurism. It is mainstream just wants to tell a story of everyday folk where all’s well that ends well after some gentle, if loud, farce.
Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!
