Given Robert De Niro’s penchant for dumb comedies, this release was approached with a wary eye.
No need to worry.
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| Although Salvo (Robert De Niro, right) long ago promised a treasured family heirloom when his son Sebastian (Sebastian Maniscalco) became ready to pop the question to a True Love, this agreement comes with a hitch: Salvo first wants to meet his son's fiancée's family. |
An additional blessing: None of these characters resorts to screaming, or the tiresome hurling of breakable objects at each other. Disagreements and arguments, sure: even occasional raised voices … but it feels authentic, and not contrived.
This obviously results from Maniscalco’s input, relying on the “immigrant growing up in America” experience that he has honed so well in his stand-up act. He’s a natural born storyteller, particularly when it comes to his own story (or a somewhat, um, enhanced reading of same).
Sicilian-born Salvo (De Niro), a hard-working hairdresser, long ago moved his family to Chicago, in order to grant his son what all parents desire: better opportunities for their children. Sebastian (Maniscalco) has indeed thrived, rising to a coveted position within the city’s Hilton hotel chain. He also has fallen in love with budding artist Ellie (Leslie Bibb) — who possesses more enthusiasm than talent — and who adores him in return.
Their personalities are wildly different. He’s reserved and somewhat wary, content with his place in the universe. She’s open and ready for anything, cheerfully applying just the right pressure to occasionally take Sebastian out of his comfort zone (in good ways). Maniscalco and Bibb are adorable together.
The only remaining detail, in Sebastian’s mind, is the perfect when and where to pop The Question. He also requests his grandmother’s heirloom ring, which Salvo long ago promised his son could give to The One.
But Salvo is concerned. Ellie comes from a super-rich family with a palatial estate in Virginia (and at least one more home elsewhere). Her father, Bill Collins (David Rasche), is a captain of industry and CEO of a rival luxury hotel chain; her mother, the aptly named Tigger (Kim Cattrall) — because she has claws — is a firebrand, ultra-conservative U.S. Senator.
And while they’re both immigrant families, the Collins clan beat Salvo’s family to American shores by quite a few generations, having arrived on a modest little ship called The Mayflower.
How, Salvo worries, could Sebastian possible fit into their world? Worse yet, would they look down on him?
The potentially perfect solution arrives when Ellie’s parents invite them to the family’s annual, fun-laden July 4 weekend celebration. She insists that Salvo come along; Sebastian isn’t so sure. But he relents, of course (else we wouldn’t have a movie).
What follows is predictable: the anticipated oil-and-water, culture and generational awkwardness. But it’s played at a reasonable level, and it’s clear — from initial meeting — that everybody is trying to get along.
Well, almost everybody. Ellie’s older brother Lucky (Anders Holm) — so named because he’s Bill Collins XIII — is a condescending, prank-pulling jerk whose every belittling gibe warrants a punch in the face. Younger brother Doug (Brett Dier), although a gentler soul, is a spacey New Age convert run amuck: obsessed with meditation, outré diets and sound bowls.
Cattrall is aggressive sound and fury as the take-charge Tigger, who never met a TV talking head she couldn’t overwhelm, and who absolutely Hates. To. Lose. Rasche’s Bill is an amiable, old-money gentleman who can’t really navigate the extremes of his wife and children, and long ago gave up trying.
De Niro gets ample opportunity to exercise his bemused raised eyebrows: an expression he has mastered to perfection. During their times alone, Salvo grows increasingly uneasy; these people are just so casually full of themselves. Sebastian, experiencing the same chasm-like cultural divide, can’t really argue.
But he nonetheless wants to make things work: a step that he insists his stubborn father hasn’t taken. Thus, once again demonstrating the dangers of Be Careful What You Wish For, the only thing worse — and funnier — than a non-compliant Salvo, is his abrupt willingness to relax and go with the flow.
On his own terms, of course.
Maniscalco and Earl’s script is laden with several lovely little touches. No matter how annoyed Salvo and Sebastian get with each other, they don’t let that interfere with their nightly bedtime ritual of a cologne spritz before hitting the pillow. Much later, Ellie draws a brilliant parallel between overly protective parental coddling and bowling: a metaphor that deserves to be enshrined on a bumper sticker.
Each major comedic set-piece — a tennis match, water sports, a spontaneous hair styling, and Salvo’s insistence on preparing an authentic Sicilian supper — is played just right, absent slapstick overkill.
The result is unexpectedly sweet, and an impressive starring debut for Maniscalco. No question: He’s gonna go places.
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