I took my girls to see the movie Uncle Nino last night. Not only did we see a good family film together, we met the star! Pierrino Mascarino was in town to promote the film, hand out autographed photographs, talk of the need for more family-friendly films, and hug virtually everyone.
The Grand Rapids Press review by John Douglas says (excerpt):
Iwish I had known “Uncle Nino” was coming to town when I wrote a recent article on family films.
I certainly would have recommended “Uncle Nino,” a film being tested in Grand Rapids beginning today. It is the perfect kind of fare for families looking for something to do together during the holidays.
“Uncle Nino” is a film about people, specifically the Micelli family, made up of Robert (Joe Mantegna) and Marie (Anne Archer) and their two children Bobby (Trevor Morgan) and Gina (Gina Mantegna).
There is nothing greatly wrong with the family, but there is evidence they might not be going in the right direction as their kids reach their teens.
Then into their lives comes an older man from the countryside of Italy. He is Nino Micelli (Pierrino Mascarino), and he is Robert’s uncle. And he has a whole different way of looking at things. He spots trouble on the horizon for the family, and he sees things about our culture playing havoc with the family and, I suppose, families in general. So he goes to work on the problems.
I would be remiss if I didn’t say the film follows fairly predictable paths. There really is no secret how this film is going to end. But that is OK. A well-traveled path still can be used to see things of interest, and those things are presented well under the writing and direction of Robert Shallcross (“Bored Silly”).
The filmmakers make sure you leave the theater feeling pretty darn good about life.
An accompanying interview by John Douglas explains the origins of the film (excerpt):
“I wanted to do a film about a family more disconnected than dysfunctional,” said writer and director Shallcross. “They love each other but are disconnected. I wanted to bring them back together.”
Shallcross, who used to produce television commercials, said he got the idea during a trip to Italy.
“I was in Italy, and I looked at their way of life,” he said. “In America, everyone is eating on the run. In Italy, they sit at the table together for hours.”
This cultural difference intrigued Shallcross, and the character of Uncle Nino was created. The film tells of his travels to America from Italy to visit his American relatives.
John Douglas fulfills the truest function of the critic: he leads toward that which is good. I feel very fortunate this film found favor with his discerning sensibilities.
I also met Uncle Nino. The movie has nothing offensive in it which is great (and hard to find in this day in age). It is such a good movie that we are seeing it again for the 2nd time with our whole family! Pray for Uncle Nino if you can because he said he was going through some very dark days. Well, I’m off to the movie theater! CU!
This film is fantastic! Why can’t more (clean cut) family films with a powerful message like this, be produced? We got into the theater 15 to 20 minutes before showtime, and we had a hard time finding a seat! Take the whole family.
Finally! A warm-hearted movie portraying the “real” modern day Italian-American family. Please try to make your way to see this film which will hopefully be country-wide soon. Ciao.