Surprisingly slapstick, the new Toni Collette vehicle Mafia Mamma is significantly goofy, and if you’re on board with that, it can be a really good time.
The film stars Collette as an overworked, over-looked advertising exec who, in addition to her struggles with heavy-handed sexism and general apathy in her workplace, is married to a buffoon while also sending her son off to college. When her grandfather passes away in Italy, she is flown out to the funeral and handed control of the family. But this is no ordinary family; it's the mafia, er, “invisible family.”
It's an oft-seen fish-out-of-water tale that tries to juggle too many different things, such as humor, heart, and topical worldly issues, such as sexism in the workplace and greed. It shouldn’t work. I mean, it’s plodding, and the script is trite, but this film has something that others like it do not…Toni Collette. Colette is a force of an actress, which has been showcased in the likes of films such as Hereditary, but here she is able to let go of that decapitating piano wire and really let loose and have fun.
The film really could have used more focus. There are some surprising amounts of gore and shocking deaths, in addition to ridiculous comedic situations, while also trying to be a film with a deeper meaning about finding oneself and tackling feminist issues on top of that. It’s unfortunately chaotic and extremely mismanaged. It feels like the second or third draft of someone’s old idea they had back in film school, but the film comes from three writers, two of which have almost exclusively done goofy television comedies. And at times, you definitely feel the lack of uniformity of an overall vision.
This feels like an Adam Sandler film, both in tone and execution. Director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) has her actors lean into the plot's slapstick and ridiculousness, rather than making a straightforward type of film. It’s reminiscent of Sandler’s Murder Mystery series, but this goes a little more Mr. Deeds with it, and I think to its benefit.
It's not a great movie, hell, I’m not even sure it's a good movie, but if you’re open to it, you can have just as much fun as Toni Collette does.
*Mafia Mamma will release in theaters nationwide on Friday, April 14th.*
