Miracles do exist, especially in this film. Unfortunately, this is not a compliment, which is such a shame, because this film could have been so much better.
“My Big Gay Italian Wedding” starts off strong, setting up the romance between Antonio (Cristiano Caccamo) and Paolo (Salvatore Esposito) with a flashback of their relationship filmed in the point-of-view of Paolo, before cutting back to the present when Antonio proposes to him. During the whole point-of-view introduction, we are not given a clue who Antonio is talking to, and it keeps the gender of the character a secret, but given that the title of the film is “My Big Gay Italian Wedding”, it shouldn’t be too hard to guess. After agreeing to his proposal, Paolo then suggests following Antonio back to his hometown to seek approval from his parents, which poses a big problem – they don’t know he’s gay. Accompanying them back are their landlady Benedetta (Diana Del Bufalo) and Donato (Dino Abbrescia), their new flatmate who happens to be a cross-dressing bus driver with depression.
Once Antonio announces his engagement to his parents, the atmosphere turns sour. Antonio’s mother, Anna (Monica Guerritore), supports the marriage, while Roberto (Diego Abatantuono), his father and the mayor of the town, is strongly opposed to it. Ironically, Roberto promotes integration and the acceptance of refugees into the town, but is unable to accept his son’s sexuality and marriage, going so far as to say “I’m not happy, I can’t be happy, just because you two are happy.” Another issue that Antonio and Paulo face is Anna’s condition for supporting the wedding, that Paulo’s mother must also be present for it. However, ever since coming out to her three years ago, Paulo has not been in touch with her and is convinced that she will never support his engagement. There is also a subplot consisting of Antonio’s psychotic ex-girlfriend Camilla (Beatrice Arnera), who is still obsessed with him and will stop at nothing to ruin the wedding.
However, all these conflicts that arise in the film get resolved miraculously at the end without much difficulty, and it feels like the filmmakers are unsure of how to resolve these threads so they just decide to completely ignore all these issues and replace it with a musical number, hoping that we would overlook this decision. This was really disappointing because I grew very attached to the characters, and was hoping for a more cathartic climax and satisfying ending.
Despite that, the film is filled with humorous interactions and touching moments such as those between Benedetta and Donato, who steal the show with their tragic backstories which blossom into a bittersweet romance. Roberto and Anna’s arguments are also very intense, backed by solid performances from Diego Abatantuono and Monica Guerritore. Roberto’s stubbornness and refusal to accept his son’s sexuality goes head to head with Anna’s firm stance that she will not live with a man “who doesn’t accept his son”, and it leads to an ultimatum which results in a catastrophic moment later on in the film. Roberto’s stubbornness reflects moments in our life when we may find it difficult to understand someone’s position or beliefs. But just like him, we too can, and should, learn to accept other people’s differences.
“My Big Gay Italian Wedding” is essentially a light-hearted comedy guaranteed to make you giggle and fall in love with the characters. But if you are looking for an LGBT drama on the heavier side, this might not be for you.
★★★ (3 stars out of 5)
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