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Mambo Italiano
Samuel Goldwyn Films


7.2

based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 16 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for language and sexual situations

Starring Luke Kirby, Ginette Reno, Johnny Griffin, Paul Sorvino, Claudia Ferri, Peter Miller, Mary Walsh, Tara Nicodemo, and Pierrette Robitaille

Adapted from the successful play by the same name, the movie explores further the subtleties and complexities of a quintessential Italian family -- a family straddling the cultures, traditions, and mores of the old and new worlds. (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Émile Gaudreault Steve Galluccio (play)
DIRECTED BY:	Émile Gaudreault
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: February 17, 2004 Video: February 17, 2004 Theatrical: September 19, 2003
RUNNING TIME:	88 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	Canada

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Entertainment Weekly Scott Brown

This is feel-good filmmaking, to be sure, but the culture clash here is more than a meaningless vehicle for fizzy wish fulfillment. The not-unpleasant result is hearty Italian fare with the half-life of Chinese takeout.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Intent on offering viewers a good time yet manages to sneak in considerable substance in a disarming, even old-fashioned manner.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

So desperately eager to please: Gaudreault doesn't offer much in the way of wit or originality, but he's determined to win us over with sheer enthusiasm.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Patterns itself after the Greek model -- that is, more ethnic humour with a contemporary twist.

Boston Globe Janice Page

No sophisticated dance, but it moves about with an open heart. And hey, it's at least as funny as that Greek thing.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Beneath the heavy accents, wild gesticulating, slaps to the head and garish flocked wallpaper, there's an awful lot of heart.

Empire Caroline Westbrook

Lacks sparkle, and finally tips its gallery of colourful protagonists into the realm of caricature.

Variety David Rooney

The broad comedy is somewhat strained and obvious, and the hyper-real atmosphere encourages the cast to slice the prosciutto a little thickly. But the film's sweet-natured ingenuousness proves reasonably contagious.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

You don't have to be gay or Italian or live in Canada to enjoy Mambo Italiano, but a tolerance for ethnic mugging helps.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

A coming-out comedy that mines every cliche of cloistered Italian culture. But like "Greek Wedding," Mambo has enough funny moments to save it.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Likable but relentlessly trivial.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The "Big Fat Wedding" formula dictates a certain amount of ugly-duckling fantasy along with the ethnic scenery chewing.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

There are laughs in the movie, and a lot of good feeling, but it seems more interested in its Italian stereotypes than its gay insights.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Unless you think "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was the height of genius, there's little reason to sit though another version.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

More than painful to behold, it's simply insincere in a film determined to undermine gay stereotypes.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

If Gaudreault's 90-minute pilot ever makes it to television, French-Canadians can look forward to their own Italian version of A.K.A. Pablo.

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

Ethnic and sexual stereotypes receive equally clumsy treatment in this Canadian comedy.

The New York Times Dave Kehr

As Angelo, Mr. Kirby has a boyish charm, which is probably the best that can be said for this film as well.

Village Voice Ed Halter

Old annoying ethnic family stereotypes meet new annoying gay-relationship stereotypes in this candidate for "Kiss Me Guido's" heretofore uncontested niche.

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

More dispiriting than the caricatured Italian families is the sense that, by picture's end, the filmmakers have neutered Angelo, so that his sexual energy is dulled, made non-threatening -- the perfect son after all.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

This film might have been daringly funny 10 years ago, even with its broadest elements intact. Now it's comfortable as old slippers and unthreatening as a sleeping kitten.

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

The script is inane, and though Ferri has some funny moments, the acting is annoying or hopelessly bland.

Dallas Observer David Ehrenstein

If any further indication were needed of the fact that gay has gone mainstream, this flaccid farce provides definitive proof, for it's as forced and unfunny as subpar Sandra Dee.

Premiere Addison MacDonald

Perfectly harmless but by no means cinematic. It is unapologetically vying for the same moviegoers that "Greek Wedding" connected with last summer.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Lacks that outrageous effrontery that might have socked it to its intended audience.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Disappointing flop that is best left off your dance card.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 16 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ivan O. gave it a10:
Really, really great work!

Frank A. gave it a 10:
Hysterical!! I haven't laughed this hard in years. Especially the scene where Angelo's parents are badgering him as to why Nino is a better roomate than them, and he blurts out "he's my lover"!! The parents expressions had me rolling on the couch. That's just one example. I heartily recommend this one for sheer hysterical fun!

Joshua E. gave it a 10:
This movie portrays the diversity and the hardships in the world today. It was a touching film.

Douglas H. gave it a 3:
This movie sucked!

H. T. gave it a 9:
So funny and true! Being a first-generation Italian-Canadian myself, I can honestly say that the stereotypes are true and this movie presents life in an Italian family with only a little embellishment. I absolutely loved it!

Julie M. gave it a 1:
This is the most vulgar and cheap movie I have ever seen! Trash from A to Z. It goes to show that in Quebec they are completely in the dark as to what a good movie is! The vulgarity of the language is repulsive, and they claim to be a "french" province. To me it's not even a language, it's a bad dialect. So much for "La Belle Province." Shame, shame shame!!! Watching that movie was painful and the word is weak!!

Greg T. gave it a 7:
This is not a bad gay oriented movie and redeeming in the sense that everyone ends up relatively happy in the end. The close knit and compulsive Italian family is a stereotype, but hey, who can't relate to this scenario? We all can at some level. It is a weak comedy but a comedy notwithstanding. Worth renting if you are interested in gays, Italians or the ethnic family dynamic.

Mambo Italiano Samuel Goldwyn Films

Mambo Italiano
Samuel Goldwyn Films