Mafia Mamma has a demure and submissive woman finding her mojo as the newly crowned leader of an Italian crime family. The action-comedy never finds its footing by swinging wildly through jumbled themes. You cheer for female empowerment, gag at the unexpectedly bloody carnage, and chuckle slightly at borderline offensive stereotypes. The film mocks mob classics like The Godfather but isn't particularly clever doing it. A rote and predictable script never recovers from a second act lull. The supremely talented Toni Collette tries her best to rescue the narrative.
Pharmaceutical marketer Kristin Balbano (Collette) fights back tears. She watches as her beloved son Domenick (Tommy Rodger) packs for college. Paul (Tim Daish), her musician husband, comforts as she packs trail mix and sandwiches. Her day doesn't get any better at work. Kristin's ageist and sexist boss belittles her ideas while lauding her younger and arrogant colleagues.
Meanwhile, in Italy, Bianca (Monica Bellucci), consigliere to Don Giuseppe Balbano (Alessandro Bressanello), cradles his dead body after a massacre. She must fulfill a dying wish and prevent further bloodshed. Kristin ignores repeated calls from a foreign number. She finally picks up the phone after catching Paul in an uncompromising position with a groupie.
The Family Business
A hurt and heartbroken Kristin accepts the invitation to her grandfather's funeral in Rome. She hadn't seen or spoken to him since childhood. Kristin's best friend (Sophia Nomvete) encourages her to sow wild oats abroad. She gets her first taste of la dolce vita meeting a handsome stranger (Giulio Corso) at the airport. Kristin's excitement turns to abject terror when the funeral procession is targeted. She's stupefied to learn her family's true business and expected leadership in their dangerous affairs. A position that doesn't sit well with her fierce cousin (Eduardo Scarpetta).
Mafia Mamma portrays Kristin as aw shucks sweet and a doormat for everyone to step on. Her reaction to Paul doing the horizontal tango with a "Gen Z feminist" sets the stage for the transformation to come. Kristin has always put others before her needs. The plot has the meek butterfly breaking out of her cocoon with a chainsaw. She bumbles her way to criminal mastermind by being constantly underestimated. Men who don't respect her pay the ultimate price.
Director Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Twilight) relishes male comeuppance to a fault. Kristin's journey from pantsuits and hair buns to designer dresses and curls cuts a literal gory swath through manhood. Bad dudes lose all manner of protruding limbs crossing paths with the accidentally formidable Kristin. The castrating violence, meant to be comical, misses the mark. The attempt to parody gangster reprisals with a girl power element just isn't funny.
Mafia Mamma treads precariously into minstrel show territory with its general depiction of Italians. The costumes, mannerisms, speech, and inordinate pasta guzzling have little nuance. Again, this is done for exaggerated comedic effect with no ill intent, but might rub some audiences the wrong way. Imagine if the same tact was used with African-American or Jewish culture.
Toni Collette Dazzles
Toni Collette can do no wrong in my book. She's impressive in every performance and continues to dazzle here. The protagonist would look fawning and silly with a lesser actress. Collette makes Mafia Mamma at least watchable on the strength of her performance. There are many issues, but she isn't one of them.
Mafia Mamma is a production of Idea(L), Vocab Films, and New Sparta Production. It will have a theatrical release on April 14th from Bleecker Street.