Mambo Italiano

This film has a lot of the flaws of a first feature, which is surprising since it’s the director’s second feature. Nonetheless, in spite of some cuteness and pandering, it’s an entertaining and funny look at that most common of human problems: coming out as gay to your traditional Italian immigrant parents. Paul Sorvino adds a dash of star power, but the real star of this film is the set design. All the furniture and wall paper looks like it fell off a truck that was traveling between Harlem and Little Italy in 1974. If you can’t get enough acid green and lemon yellow, and you want some gay-positive yucks at the same time, check this one out. At the very least, its quiet, family-friendly view of gay life is just the sort of thing that makes Ralph Reed uncomfortably erect.