By Marc S. Sanders
I’ve been listening to a podcast covering Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, and one of the commentators pointed out that too often Italian Americans are only depicted within a vacuum of mobster mentality. Wracking my brain, I couldn’t disagree. However, a small film written and directed by Luca Perito called Ciao, Mama sways away from that stereotype. The mama of the title, whose name is Gloria, has passed on. Family and friends gather in upstate New York to celebrate her life.
The film primarily focuses on Tony (Micah Joe Parker), the son who went to Hollywood with an ambition of becoming a successful actor. Away for nine years and the best he’s doing is trying out for Cop #3. He gets a call from his one-time girlfriend Danielle (Rebecca Radisic) that his mother has passed away from cancer. Tony was never supposed to know until she was gone. Gloria specifically told Danielle and his childhood friend Marco (Johnny Wactor) to keep her illness a secret.
Back in New York, the house is full of all who knew Mama, including her husband who is experiencing early onset dementia, plus Marco and Danielle, but Tony cannot bear to go inside. It’s clear he is shell shocked by this news and holds his internal vigil in the backyard while nursing a beer.
Ciao, Mama needed to be a longer film, clocking in at roughly only an hour and fifteen minutes. Especially because I quickly grew to love this collection of characters. The problem is I did not learn enough. What is fortunate is that I grew to love Mama (Alessia Franchin) through flashback.
Perito’s film, adapted from his one act play, demonstrates how full a home is with the matriarch there to connect all who enter through its front door. The past life moments of Franchin’s character makes whoever she is talking to the most important person in the world at any given moment. A touching scene shows her being the inquisitor as she interrogates Danielle and then later Bianca, Marco’s girlfriend (Emily Alabi), on their favorite color, favorite drink, what makes them happy, what makes them sad and so on. The natural chemistry of the two young ladies in front of this middle-aged woman set on a tranquil patio setting is so comfortable. The girls enjoy her presence. They want to be nowhere else and Mama does not have desire to do anything other. I wanted Mama to question me next.
Shortly after, the temperature changes and Marco is learning that Mama’s cancer is getting worse and treatment is too expensive. This lifelong friend of the family insists on paying for her medical bills. I’ve seen conversations like this before. It’s in every WB drama or Hallmark film. I know where it always goes and what notes it hits. However, Johnny Wactor, as Marco, with Alessia Franchin strike a special chord. This is one of the few scenes they share in this short film, and I feel like I’ve seen a whole relationship.
Michah Joe Parker as Tony does good work as the anguished son who seems to be ten steps behind everyone else when he returns home. His early confrontations with Marco are peppered with the f-word and angry roughhousing in the grassy backyard. Wactor and Parker have good chemistry. I do wish there was more substance to their conflicts, however. When a film takes place over one afternoon into night with less than ninety minutes of running time, it’s important to be economical with these exchanges of dialogue. Before Tony reveals that he hooked up with Marco’s sister, Danielle (Rebecca Radisic), what was truly eating away at these childhood best friends? Good scenes but there is definitely some treading water in a pool of f-bombs and not much else. I needed more back story for these two guys.
I also wanted to learn more about Danielle and Tony and what drew them together. There’s an adorable flashback scene where they finally attack one another with passion only to get interrupted by Gloria, who has no serious objection. However, then not much else is shared beyond Danielle consoling Tony after the funeral and trying to fence off her inebriated brother Marco.
Great humor comes from the minister (Pete Gardner). In between confrontations or flashbacks, the film cuts back to Father O’Malley in the kitchen, near the buffet table, savoring the delicious Italian food while chiming in with terribly inappropriate jokes. To see a priest declare that he hates funerals…because he’s not a mourning person is hysterically ill timed. To further see him roll his eyes to the back of his head and lose his footing while he chows down on lasagna with one hand and homemade brownies in another introduces a whole other dynamic. Whenever Gardner shows up on screen, I fell in love with Perito’s film all over again. This priest should be containing himself more with decorum. Yet, it’s hilarious that he does not. This was a such a wise choice of Perito to uphold this side bit because it also welcomes an appreciation of Italian culture and cuisine…from an Irish minister.
It’s a terrible sadness to learn that Johnny Wactor was tragically murdered just before this film was completed. Marco is a tormented soul plagued by addiction and pain, while appearing like he has it all together. Wactor beautifully sets up a lot of different dimensions from Perito’s script of effective dialogue. I would have liked to see Johnny Wactor’s career flourish. My wife watched him on General Hospital, a young actor with such promise. Thankfully, he can be seen here in a delicately sensitive and unstable character performance. I welcome a sequel, perhaps at Marco’s funeral, where Wactor’s invention of the character can be celebrated next. Because of the short length of Ciao, Mama there is definately more to tell about this family and the surrounding community.
An adjustment I wish was considered was the instrumental soundtrack. Often it is intrusive and unnecessary. Rather than amplifying any given scene, it is used as a crutch to build up emotions. I found it too loud. On occasion, it was hard to hear the actors’ dialogue. More importantly, this cast is very capable already. So, I did not need a soundtrack to feel a connection. These actors and this script had me already.
Ciao, Mama is worth the watch, but again it begs for more. There’s a lot of good, substantial baggage offered, but the film requires additional material to breathe and cover the promising stories that I was not ready to let go of. I was taken with the piece all the way through until its conclusion when a final farewell from Mama is read to Tony on a north shore beach. Otherwise, Ciao, Mama is a beautiful film.
2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 