DVD Review - My Big Gay Italian Wedding

In 2002, My Big Fat Greek Wedding was released and became a huge hit. It became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all-time. It did so without ever becoming number-one in the box office. The film even was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Obviously, a movie so successful will inspire a lot of people. One person was Anthony J. Wilkinson who created an Off-Broadway play titled My Big Gay Italian Wedding in 2003. The play did reasonably well. Now, an actual Italian company has decided to adapt the play into this film. The original was set in the United States. This one is set in the actual country of Italy. Except for some minor changes like the fact that everyone is native Italian, the translation of the plot is virtually the same. A same-sex, male couple who becomes engaged have to deal with their resistant family and a pesky ex-partner who wants to break things up.

Cristiano Caccamo stars as Antonio, a 28-year-old Italian immigrant who now lives in Berlin, Germany. He's compared to Fonzie from Happy Days and he does have that similar Henry Winkler vibe from the 1970's. He left his small town in Italy and came to Germany, mostly so he could be openly gay. In his small town, there were a lot of expectations, due to religion and custom, particularly from his father to be this macho version of what a man should be, instead of the person that Antonio wanted to be naturally, which is basically a gay Fonzie. Before he could be that person though, he did pretend to be straight and he pretended with a woman, but he had to end it. The movie, however, starts with Antonio falling in love with a man and proposing marriage.

Salvatore Esposito co-stars as Paolo, a fellow Italian immigrant living in Berlin. He left Naples and came to Germany because his mother rejected him when he came out as gay. The adorably cute and chubby, bearded sweetheart works as a bartender but is an aspiring actor. He bonded with Antonio when they both did a musical together. He accepts Antonio's marriage proposal without question. When he realizes that Antonio hasn't come out to his parents, Paolo insists on coming with Antonio to his hometown to help Antonio tell his mother and father the truth about their engagement.

Director Alessandro Genovesi uses this as the perfect opportunity to show off Antonio's hometown, Civita di Bagnoregio, which is a real place, 2 hours north of Rome in central Italy. Civita di Bagnoregio is an old-world town, built of stone, sitting atop a plateau or small mountain that's only accessible by a walking bridge. It's the perfect opportunity for Genovesi to put on screen an absolutely beautiful location, which is probably often exposed in Italian cinema and television, but it's still sumptuous. If anything, Genovesi doesn't take more advantage of the location and boast more, wide expansive visuals or more of the ins and outs to get more of the geography of the place.

The one odd thing is when Antonio and Paolo arrive in Civita, there are men dressed similarly to how members of the Ku Klux Klan dress. In Italy, during Easter, an event is held that depicts or mimics the crucifixion. Some of the men in that depiction wear white robes and hoods similar to that of the KKK or perhaps it's the other way round. The form of dress might have multiple meanings and associations, but in the United States, the association to the KKK is too strong to be ignored.

Otherwise, Genovesi's film skips along nimbly with charm and humor that makes it very endearing and sweet. It doesn't have the same hijinks, physical comedy or broad jokes that My Big Fat Greek Wedding had. It's less slapstick. It's not that My Big Fat Greek Wedding was all slapstick but whatever slapstick it had, this film has less. Its comedy is a bit more subtle or a tad dry. Yet, it's still effective. It's mostly earnest from scene-to-scene.

It leans more on the social commentary of homophobia. Diego Abatantuono plays Roberto, the father to Antonio and the mayor of Civita. Of everyone in the town, he's the one who is opposed to his son being gay and marrying another man. Again, it's not played up in silly ways for laughs. His obstinence is merely contrasted with that of his wife, Anna, played by Monica Guerritore. Anna is obstinent too, but she's obstinent about having the biggest gay wedding possible hosted by the parents. Roberto's obstinence is also contrasted with things like the local priest, Brother Francesco, played by Antonio Catania, being more tolerant and accepting than Roberto.

One would think the local, Catholic priest would be the most against the gay wedding, but he isn't. That subversion of expectations is the basis of a lot of the comedy here. That's seemingly more delightful than the ridiculous slapstick or over-the-top antics in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The consequence is that the audience here probably won't be laughing out loud as much.

Antonio's ex-girlfriend, Camilla, played by Beatrice Arnera, does bring some antics that's amusing, but Genovesi's film doesn't bombard us with too much of her either. A cross-dressing, bus driver who seems to be autophobic named Donato Lavopa, played by Dino Abbrescia, also could be a source of laughs in the vein of The Birdcage (1996), but this film is rather restrained when it comes to that character too. Genovesi balances things, so that his film never tilts too much into that broad comedy like Mambo Italiano (2003). The opening montage, which feels like a very lovey-dovey home video, proves how much the film prefers to be a straight romance more than anything else.

That's why it's a bit jarring when all of a sudden we get a musical number at the end. It's seemingly an ode to Wilkinson's play, which was a musical with original songs by David James Boyd. Genovesi's musical number isn't one of those Boyd songs though. It's instead a rendition of Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way," performed by Caccamo and the cast, maintaining the 70's disco beat, the only proper genre of music to end any gay male romance.

Puoi baciare lo sposo
Not Rated but contains no sex or violence.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 26 mins.

Available on DVD and VOD.