For those who are wanting a straightforward, fun romantic comedy that is not too serious or deep but pretty much entertaining throughout and you also happen to love pizza, definitely give “Little Italy” a try!
Image courtesy of © 2018 Lions Gate Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Little Italy
YEAR OF FILM: 2017
DURATION: 101 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 2:40:1 Aspect Ratio, English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Subtitles: English SDH and Spanish Subtitles
COMPANY: Lionsgate
RATED: R (Some Sexual References)
RELEASE DATE: November 20, 2018
Directed by Donald Petrie
Written by Steve Galluccio, Vinay Virmani
Producer: Pauline Dhillon, Ajay Virmani, Vinay Virmani
Associate Producer: Manu Chopra, Julie Lawrence
Executive Producer: Fred Fuchs
Associate Producer: Julie Lawrence, Manu Chopra
Music by Mateo Messina
Cinematography by Thom Best
Edited by Michele Conroy
Casting by John Buchan, Jason Knight
Production Design by Dan Yarhi
Art Decoration by Dennis Davenport
Set Decoration by Mary Kirkland
Costume Design by Joanna Syrokomla
Starring:
Hayden Christensen as Leo Campo
Emma Roberts as Nikki Angioli
Alyssa Milano as Dora
Danny Aiello as Carlo
Andrea Martin as Franca
Jane Seymour as Corrine
Gary Basaraba as Vince
Adam Ferrara as Sal
Andrew Phung as Luigi
Vas Saranga as Jogi
Linda Kash as Amalia
Amrit Kaur as Jessie
The director of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Miss Congeniality serves up a delicious new comedy topped with passion, playfulness, and pepperoni. Former childhood pals Leo and Nikki are attracted to each other as adults—but will their feuding parents’ rival pizzerias put a chill on their sizzling romance?
From filmmaker Donald Petrie, best known for his films “Mystic Pizza”, “Grumpy Old Men”, “Miss Congeniality” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” is back with a romantic comedy titled “Little Italy”.
Featuring an ensemble cast which include Hayden Christensen (“Star Wars” Episode I-III, “Jumper”), Emma Roberts (“Nerve”, “The Art of Getting By”, “Aquamarine”), Alyssa Milano (“Who’s the Boss?”, “Charmed”, “Commando”), Danny Aiello (“Do the Right Thing”, “Leon”, “Moonstruck”), Andrea Martin (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, “Innerspace”), Jane Seymour (“Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman”, “Wedding Crashers”, “Live and Let Die”) and many more.
And now the film will be released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Lionsgate.
The film revolves around two best friends since they were children, Leo Campo and Nikki Angioli. Both of their fathers were pizza partners in Little Italy in Toronto.
Unfortunately, the relationship between Leo’s father Vince (portrayed by Gary Basaraba) and Nikki’s father Sal (portrayed by Adam Ferrara) for some reason became volatile and now they are rival pizza makers. While Vince’s wife Amalia (portrayed by Linda Kash) and Sal’s wife Dora (portrayed by Alyssa Milano) continue to be good friends while trying to pretend they are rivals as well.
The families don’t know that Vince’s father Carlo (portrayed by Danny Aiello) and Sal’s mother Franca (portrayed by Andrea Martin), are secretly dating.
While Leo (portrayed by Hayden Christensen) would stay and work at his father’s pizzeria, Nikki (portrayed by Emma Roberts) would go on to be a talented cook and working under the famous chef Corrine (portrayed by Jane Seymour).
And Nikki is given time off to go home in order to change her Visa and working on a cooking menu for an upcoming cooking exhibit and travels back to Little Italy to spend time with her family but also to see how her former best friend, who she hasn’t seen in years, Leo is doing.
And the two no doubt have chemistry and flirt with each other, but they have a lot of history and while they do have an interest towards each other, unfortunately due to their parents rivalry, they may never come out and say how they really feel towards each other.
VIDEO:
“Little Italy” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1 aspect ratio). Picture quality is actually very well-done. A lot of outdoor shots and great lighting adding to a vibrancy of colors displayed throughout the film.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Little Italy” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Dialogue and musical soundtrack are crystal clear through the front channels.
Subtitles are in English SDH and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Little Italy” comes with:
- Behind the Scenes of Little Italy Featuring Cast and Crew Interviews
- Trailer Gallery
EXTRAS:
“Little Italy” Comes with a Digital Copy code.
I suppose that I may have been a bit judgmental about “Little Italy” before watching the film. For one, my memories of Hayden Christensen’s acting was the “Star Wars” trilogy and “Jumper” and to be truthful, at first I wondered why he was playing an Italian guy in a romantic comedy.
It turns out that Christensen is from Canada but his father is of Danish descent and his mother is Swedish/Italian.
And I have to say, Christensen’s acting has no doubt improved a lot since I last watched him in a film and it helps to be paired with Emma Roberts and have a cast which includes Danny Aiello, Alyssa Milano, Andrea Martin, Jane Seymour and of course, filmmaker Donald Petrie.
Petrie best known for “Mystic Pizza”, “Grumpy Old Men”, “Miss Congeniality” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” has been focusing it appears on TV series such as “Chicago Justice” and “Chicago Med” but it’s great to see him return to direct an entertaining romantic comedy written by Steve Galluccio (who wrote “Mambo Italiano” and “Funky Town”) and Vinay Virmani (“Dr. Cabbie”, “Two Lovers and a Bear”).
“Little Italy” is a straight out comedy about a boy and girl who grew up with each other and were best friends. As kids, the two were very close until each of their father’s, who were partners in a pizza business, became enemies. And have spent many years disgusted towards each other.
Leo (portrayed by Hayden Christensen) hasn’t seen Nikki (portrayed by Emma Roberts) who left to London to study cooking and when they see each other, now as adults, suffice to say there are sparks. The two still care about each other but unfortunately, their father’s rivalry is a bit too much, especially for Nikki who left Little Italy to get away from that lifestyle and their father’s constantly fighting.
Unknown to everyone else, their grandparents, Franca (portrayed by Andrea Martin) and Carlo (portrayed by Danny Aiello) are seeing each other.
If anything, the storyline is fun, a little cheesy (no pun intended) but I did like the chemistry between Christensen and Roberts as their passion for each other really worked onscreen!
While it was great to see Alyssa Milano (playing the role of Dora, the mother of Nikki) and even Danny Aiello as Leo’s grandfather Carlo. The person who actually brought out the laughter from me is Andrew Phung as the gay bartender and Leo’s roommate, Luigi. Phung is best known for his role as Kimchee in the Canadian TV sitcom “Kim’s Convenience”.
But for those who are wanting a straightforward, fun romantic comedy that is not too serious or deep but pretty much entertaining throughout and you also happen to love pizza, definitely give “Little Italy” a try!
