I enjoyed the broad but dark comedy Mafia Mamma for the same reasons that I like the HBO show, Barry: It has the most unlikely of actors you can think of to be cast in this kind of role, but then afterward, you can’t imagine anyone else in the part.
I also like the fact that silly comedy can turn on a dime and involve a high heel being jammed into an eye socket, or any number of other violent gags.
Toni Collette plays suburban mom and wife Kristin Balbano Jordan, a mid-life crisis waiting to happen; she has just sent her son off to college and just caught her loser husband schtupping a young hottie. And her job making ads for pharmaceuticals isn’t going so well, either.
It’s clearly time for a change.
So when she gets an unexpected call from a woman she’s never met, Bianca (Monica Belluci) making her an offer she can’t refuse (come to Italy right now – you grandfather has died and you need to be here now) she goes for it.
Now the fish is officially out of water and soon Kristin discovers that her late grandfather has left her in charge of the family business; the mafia. Like I say, it’s a broad set up and not meant to be taken as anything more than a popcorn picture for a light date night.
Collette’s versatility is staggering – she can do comedy and physical shtick with the best of them and yet still have a sense of dignity that keeps her believable as a real person.
Hey, it ain’t best picture material, but it’s nice to have an easy to digest comedy for a few laughs and a couple hours.
Mafia Mamma is now in theaters