Friends and Romans was another film screened for the Arthouse Film Festival. It’s a hilarious farce that’s meant to explode a few stereotypes, and it works.
Nick DeMaio (Michael Rispoli) lives on Staten Island. He sells and delivers fruits and vegetables, but his passion is for acting. Unfortunately for him, he’s been typecast, and his whole film and TV career revolves around being an extra, usually playing mobsters, but rarely in a speaking role. He auditions for a Broadway play, but manages to offend the director. His best friend, Dennis, also an extra, gets him a gig in a car commercial, but manages to mess that up, too.
At home, his daughter Gina (Katie Stevens) is distraught. She wants to be in her high school’s rendition of Guys and Dolls, but feels overshadowed by another girl who is a true drama queen. Nick’s wife, Angela (Annabella Sciorra) is trying to make Gina feel better, but Nick isn’t helping, given that his career is crumbling, too.
Nick comes to realize that the only way he’s going to realize his dream is if he puts on his own play. He walks into a theater in Staten Island, managed by Bobby (Tony Sirico), and rents it for the play. He wants to follow in Marlon Brando’s footsteps, and Angela says the way to do it is to go to Shakespeare, and since Brando played Mark Antony in Julius Ceasar, that’s the play he’s going to do. Unbeknownst to him, the theater is actually owned by Joey ‘Bananas’ Bonano (Anthony DeSando), who’s hiding out after killing someone. The FBI has the place staked out, and are listening in, but they don’t know who Bananas actually is. They decide they should send someone in to audition for the play, and while he may look Italian, he really isn’t. Joey Bananas is, at first, against the play, but we find that he’s quite an accomplished actor, himself, and gets a starring role in it.
This movie is a farce. Much of the acting is totally over the top, and most of the cast is lamenting their status as stereotypes, while playing up to them. Gina gets a part in the high school play because of it. The FBI thinks that Nick might be the murderer, but isn’t sure. Everyone’s struggling to overcome what they are, and it’s all a big mess. I will say that the must go on, but how it unfolds is left for you to discover.
I rather enjoyed this movie and I definitely recommend it. It was hilarious, while at the same time, was on the mark about the stereotypes. Angela could have easily been a confrontational, annoying wife, but she actually encourages Nick and Gina. She’s also an English teacher, so she properly understands Shakespeare and is able to pass that along to Nick, who then teaches his cast. It’s a very entertaining movie, and will begin a limited release this weekend.
Recommended.