There’s something delicious about the new comedy “Mafia Mamma,” starring Toni Collette as the Italian-American working mom Kristin Balbano Jordan. And her story, I feel, resonates with many women across cultures and languages. Her life isn’t easy. She has a lazy-to-the-bone, cheating husband (Tim Daish) who shapes her life, and an independent-minded son who’s halfway out the door to college. Her work life isn’t much better because it’s filled with male colleagues who take delight in undermining her ideas.
For a minute there, it seems that Kristin’s life is set for a continued string of disappointments, but destiny has other plans. Fate does not see her as a doormat for the incompetent but as the next in line to run Italy’s well-connected Balbano clan; same for these crafty people. Kristin, in a trillion years, would have never imagined that her inheritance was to be inserted into an organized crime family, and here’s the kicker: They make her an offer she can’t refuse.
I can only imagine the pitch. I would have said yes. Thankfully, this film uses the gifted Collette correctly. She brings a gentle ferocity (I know, it’s an oxymoron, but it’s accurate).
It’s a fish-out-of-water comedy for sure. Where else could a pair of stiletto heels be used to stab your rivals’ paid assassin? The first hit in the crotch, and the second in the face. Who knew that Kristin had it in her? Well, the mafia did, and once the deed is completed, she thinks that maybe she’s better suited to the job, surprising her enemies and herself.
Collette brings all of the elements needed to amplify the character’s induction into this new, and deadly, world. There are many memorable scenes, but one of the best is when Kristin meets with the head of the rival Romano family, thinking that she’s just inheriting the family’s wine business. Utterly clueless, she misinterprets the negotiations for sexual attraction and follows him back (a bit drunk) to his room, where a poisoned shot of limoncello awaits its victim. The bodyguards (Alfonso Perugini and Francesco Mastroianni) know this isn’t a good idea, but their boss is cocky.
Here’s where fate is on Kristin’s side because she accidentally kills the guy who’s trying to murder her. I don’t usually laugh at death, but this one made me giggle.
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Note that the movie trailer is a bit misleading, with Kristin shouting: “Eat, pray, f***!” If you think it’s that kind of movie, think again—it’s so much better.
“Mafia Mamma” is wonderfully bold in its celebration of a middle-aged woman coming into her power and trying to stay alive in the process. Because, as viewers, we pretty much know how movie mafia families work, it’s also so much fun watching Kristin do things differently.
A modern woman, she engages her marketing expertise culled in pharmaceuticals in the U.S. in a brand-new venture, creating a black market for low-priced prescription drugs. To add more revenue, she tinkers with the wine, taking it from being basically undrinkable, since it was just a cover for the Balbanos’ illegal dealings, to something popular and profitable.
What’s funny is that Kristin—who claims to have never seen any of the “Godfather” movies—makes her illegal business legal after assuming control of the family.
“Mafia Mamma” is directed by Catherine Hardwicke with a screenplay by Michael J. Feldman and Debbie Jhoon.
Yes, “Mafia Mamma” is a comedy, but in the end, it’s really about a woman discovering hidden talents and winning in a man’s world.
“Mafia Mamma” now playing, starring Toni Collette, Monica Bellucci, Sophia Nomvete, Eduardo Scarpetta, Alfonso Perugini, Francesco Mastroianni, Giulio Corso, Dora Romano, Giuseppe Zeno, Vincenzo Pirrotta, Tommy Rodger, Alessandro Cremona, Alessandro Bressanello, Tim Daish (English, Italian dialogue).