MY BIG GAY ITALIAN WEDDING
***
Director: Alessandro Genovesi
Screenwriters: Alessandro Genovesi and Giovanni Bognetti, from a story by Genovesi based on the play by Anthony J. Wilkinson.
Principal cast:
Cristiano Caccamo
Salvatore Esposito
Monica Guerritore
Diego Abatantuono
Dino Abbrescia
Diana del Bufalo
Country: Italy
Classification: M
Runtime: 90 mins.
Australian release date: 6 June 2019
Previewed at: Palace Central, Sydney, on 28 May 2019.
An audience favourite at last year’s Italian Film Festival, Alessandro Genovesi’s feel-good romantic comedy My Big Gay Italian Wedding is at times funny but is pretty excruciating at times, too. However, the two likeable leads provide easy entry into an entertaining spectacle that crosses the cultural divide from the USA, where the original play was set, to Italy and successfully breaks down the barriers of non-acceptance of same-sex unions in that most Catholic of countries. The writers have made a few departures from the original play but the overall camp spirit remains intact.
Antonio (Cristiano Caccamo) and his boyfriend Paolo (Salvatore Esposito) are living and working in Berlin when they decide to tie the knot. Antonio is due to head home to the picturesque village of Civitá di Bagnoregio, precariously perched on a hilltop in Viterbo only accessible by a footbridge, to celebrate Easter with his family - he plays Jesus in the annual pageant recreating Christ’s journey to Calvary. Paolo suggests that they go together so that Antonio can come out to his parents, who aren’t aware of his sexuality, and break the news of their impending marriage. A gay double whammy! Antonio’s mother, Anna (Monica Guerritore), immediately accepts the situation and sets about making plans but his father, Roberto (Diego Abatantuono), the town mayor, is old school and won’t accept their union. Soon, there are other problems, when Anna makes some conditions - she refuses to let the nuptials go ahead unless Roberto performs the ceremony himself, Paolo’s estranged Neapolitan mother (Rosario d’Urso) is present, and Anna’s favourite wedding planner from TV, Enzo Miccio (played by himself), designs the celebrations. Throw in the guys’ two Berlin flatmates, promising singer Benedetta (Diana del Bufalo) and recent acquaintance Donato (Dino Abbrescia), who has his own personal demons, plus Antonio’s jealous ex-girlfriend Camilla (Beatrice Arnera), and you have the ingredients for a mad-cap, crazy ride, and for the most part it is, despite occasionally falling into parody. The wedding, when all the kinks and confusion have been sorted out, is a high-camp affair that culminates in the assembled guests joining in a rousing rendition of disco classic Don’t Leave This Way. It’s that kind of film.
My Big Gay Italian Wedding is a joyous movie that has its moments. Federico Masiero’s hand-held camera interferes with some of those moments, however, and seems an unnecessary choice in certain situations. Still, the film’s very existence is a cause for celebration and it’s an honest portrayal of love and the problems that come with commitment. With engaging performances by all the cast, especially relative newcomers Caccamo and Esposito and old faces Abatantuono and Guerritore, and an absolutely stunning setting, it will no doubt create a tourist trail across the bridge to Bagnoregio. The little village may even become a gay mecca for weddings in the future, just as envisaged by one of the local councillors in the film!
Screenwriters: Alessandro Genovesi and Giovanni Bognetti, from a story by Genovesi based on the play by Anthony J. Wilkinson.
Principal cast:
Cristiano Caccamo
Salvatore Esposito
Monica Guerritore
Diego Abatantuono
Dino Abbrescia
Diana del Bufalo
Country: Italy
Classification: M
Runtime: 90 mins.
Australian release date: 6 June 2019
Previewed at: Palace Central, Sydney, on 28 May 2019.
An audience favourite at last year’s Italian Film Festival, Alessandro Genovesi’s feel-good romantic comedy My Big Gay Italian Wedding is at times funny but is pretty excruciating at times, too. However, the two likeable leads provide easy entry into an entertaining spectacle that crosses the cultural divide from the USA, where the original play was set, to Italy and successfully breaks down the barriers of non-acceptance of same-sex unions in that most Catholic of countries. The writers have made a few departures from the original play but the overall camp spirit remains intact.
Antonio (Cristiano Caccamo) and his boyfriend Paolo (Salvatore Esposito) are living and working in Berlin when they decide to tie the knot. Antonio is due to head home to the picturesque village of Civitá di Bagnoregio, precariously perched on a hilltop in Viterbo only accessible by a footbridge, to celebrate Easter with his family - he plays Jesus in the annual pageant recreating Christ’s journey to Calvary. Paolo suggests that they go together so that Antonio can come out to his parents, who aren’t aware of his sexuality, and break the news of their impending marriage. A gay double whammy! Antonio’s mother, Anna (Monica Guerritore), immediately accepts the situation and sets about making plans but his father, Roberto (Diego Abatantuono), the town mayor, is old school and won’t accept their union. Soon, there are other problems, when Anna makes some conditions - she refuses to let the nuptials go ahead unless Roberto performs the ceremony himself, Paolo’s estranged Neapolitan mother (Rosario d’Urso) is present, and Anna’s favourite wedding planner from TV, Enzo Miccio (played by himself), designs the celebrations. Throw in the guys’ two Berlin flatmates, promising singer Benedetta (Diana del Bufalo) and recent acquaintance Donato (Dino Abbrescia), who has his own personal demons, plus Antonio’s jealous ex-girlfriend Camilla (Beatrice Arnera), and you have the ingredients for a mad-cap, crazy ride, and for the most part it is, despite occasionally falling into parody. The wedding, when all the kinks and confusion have been sorted out, is a high-camp affair that culminates in the assembled guests joining in a rousing rendition of disco classic Don’t Leave This Way. It’s that kind of film.
My Big Gay Italian Wedding is a joyous movie that has its moments. Federico Masiero’s hand-held camera interferes with some of those moments, however, and seems an unnecessary choice in certain situations. Still, the film’s very existence is a cause for celebration and it’s an honest portrayal of love and the problems that come with commitment. With engaging performances by all the cast, especially relative newcomers Caccamo and Esposito and old faces Abatantuono and Guerritore, and an absolutely stunning setting, it will no doubt create a tourist trail across the bridge to Bagnoregio. The little village may even become a gay mecca for weddings in the future, just as envisaged by one of the local councillors in the film!