Mafia Mamma
I probably enjoyed “Mafia Mamma” more than I should. This is a film that solidifies its crazy premise and runs with it, and when the film is led by Toni Collette and Monica Bellucci, it’s best to just sit back and enjoy the ride. It’s silly and fun, and that’s all it needs to be to work. I’ve also found myself with a considerable soft spot for films about characters trying to reclaim themselves after realizing their life may not be for them, and that plays into this film, as well, and Collette sells it well. Director Catherine Hardwicke keeps things humming along, and lets the lead actors do their thing- what more can you ask for?
Collette plays Kristin, a California wife and mother who’s son is going off to college, and she’s feeling some empty nest anxiety. That is compounded by her work not respecting her, and her lazy husband cheating on her. A trip to Italy sounds like just the right thing to get her back on track, even if it’s to pay respects to her grandfather, whom she never really knew. It turns out he was the head of the Balbano crime family, and he named her his successor. She doesn’t know the first thing about being a Mafia Don, however, especially as a war escalates with a rival family.
The screenplay by J. Michael Feldman and Debbie Jhoon (from a story by Amanda Sthers) is ultimately a very familiar story of a woman finding herself on an unexpected trip abroad- and yes, Eat, Pray, Love is namechecked- mixed with mob movie comedy as Kristin is out of her depths, but gradually finds a way to run things in a manner that aligns with who she is. Bellucci plays Bianca, Kristin’s grandfather’s secretary who becomes a trusted right hand to her as she takes the mantle of the family business, and Collette and Bellucci seem to be having a lot of fun with this material. One of the important parts of a film like this is to not play it too seriously, and there’s a light touch- even in scenes like the post-funeral attack by the rival family- that shows that everyone understands this movie’s tone very well. (Another scene where Kristin is on a work Zoom meeting and gets attacked is less successful, but it works to move the story- and her character- forward.) Whether it works as a comedy for you is, of course, subjective, but I enjoyed it for what it was.
