|
When Maria and Gino (Ginette Reno and Paul Sorvino) emigrated west in the ’50s from a "spit of a village" in Italy, no one had told them that there were "two Americas: the real one, and the fake one [Canada]." Furthermore, nobody alerted them to the two Canadas: the real one (Ontario), and the fake one (Quebec). So it is that they find themselves living in Montreal’s Little Italy. Fortunately, the city also has le village gai, because, unbeknownst to them, their son Angelo (Luke Kirby) is an omosessuale. Closeted, of course, because "being gay and Italian is a fate worse than ... no, actually, there is nothing worse." But when Angelo reconnects with childhood friend Nino (Peter Miller) after 10 years, it’s about 10 minutes before they’re playing hide the cannoli with each other. As their secret gets out (and one of them has second thoughts) much shrill ethnic emoting, wild gesticulating, and backa-da-head slapping ensues, and — once the parents of both men are through caterwauling about who’s the banger and who’s the bangee — we learn valuable life lessons about the immigrant experience and the importance of staying true to one’s self. Basta! Director Émile Gaudreault has some fun with Amélie-style whimsy and supersaturated colors (he sees Montmartre in Montreal), and he tosses in a few sight gags (a sly nod to Vito Corleone’s heart attack). But subtlety is not his strong point, and some dodgy accents only highlight the stereotypes that populate his film. (88 minutes)
|
