James Fitzgerald, a Hollywood publicist and manager who represented his wives Jane Powell and Erin O’Brien as well as Rock Hudson, Louella Parsons, Chuck Connors and Howard Keel, has died. He was 91.
Fitzgerald died Sunday of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Canoga Park, his son Greg Fitzgerald told The Hollywood Reporter.
Fitzgerald also assisted the careers of John Raitt, Engelbert Humperdinck, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Jimmy Van Heusen and The Burgundy Street Singers, among others. And when he was promoting the Sammy Cahn song “High Hopes” — a big hit for Frank Sinatra that won an Oscar in 1960 — he got to meet Eleanor Roosevelt, who performed the lyrics during an interview with him, as she did here.
Fitzgerald was married to singer-actress O’Brien (77 Sunset Strip, Onionhead) from 1951 until their 1963 divorce and to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers standout Powell from 1965 until their 1975 divorce (he was the third...
Fitzgerald died Sunday of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Canoga Park, his son Greg Fitzgerald told The Hollywood Reporter.
Fitzgerald also assisted the careers of John Raitt, Engelbert Humperdinck, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Jimmy Van Heusen and The Burgundy Street Singers, among others. And when he was promoting the Sammy Cahn song “High Hopes” — a big hit for Frank Sinatra that won an Oscar in 1960 — he got to meet Eleanor Roosevelt, who performed the lyrics during an interview with him, as she did here.
Fitzgerald was married to singer-actress O’Brien (77 Sunset Strip, Onionhead) from 1951 until their 1963 divorce and to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers standout Powell from 1965 until their 1975 divorce (he was the third...
- 8/21/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jodie Comer has become the 100th performer to win a Tony Award for their Broadway debut for her performance in the play, “Prima Facie.”
She won Best Actress in a Play for portraying Tess, a lawyer who concentrates in providing legal defense for men who are accused of sexual assault but soon has the unthinkable happen to her. She is the 11th person to win the category for her first outing on a Broadway stage. She joins:
SEE2023 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories
Martita Hunt, “The Madwoman of Chaillot” (1949)
Beryl Reid, “The Killing of Sister George” (1967)
Phyllis Frelich, “Children of a Lesser God” (1980)
Jane Lapotaire, “Piaf” (1981)
Joan Allen, “Burn This” (1988)
Pauline Collins, “Shirley Valentine” (1989)
Janet McTeer, “A Doll’s House” (1997)
Marie Mullen, “The Beauty Queen of Leeane” (1998)
Jennifer Ehle, “The Real Thing” (2000)
Deanna Dunagan, “August: Osage County” (2008)
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other...
She won Best Actress in a Play for portraying Tess, a lawyer who concentrates in providing legal defense for men who are accused of sexual assault but soon has the unthinkable happen to her. She is the 11th person to win the category for her first outing on a Broadway stage. She joins:
SEE2023 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories
Martita Hunt, “The Madwoman of Chaillot” (1949)
Beryl Reid, “The Killing of Sister George” (1967)
Phyllis Frelich, “Children of a Lesser God” (1980)
Jane Lapotaire, “Piaf” (1981)
Joan Allen, “Burn This” (1988)
Pauline Collins, “Shirley Valentine” (1989)
Janet McTeer, “A Doll’s House” (1997)
Marie Mullen, “The Beauty Queen of Leeane” (1998)
Jennifer Ehle, “The Real Thing” (2000)
Deanna Dunagan, “August: Osage County” (2008)
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other...
- 6/12/2023
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Lisa Montell, a starlet in the 1950s and ’60s who appeared in such films as World Without End opposite Rod Taylor and Ten Thousand Bedrooms alongside Dean Martin, has died. She was 89.
Montell died March 7 in Southern California Hospital at Van Nuys of heart problems and sepsis, her daughter, Shireen Janti, told The Hollywood Reporter.
A native of Poland, Montell portrayed characters of various ethnicities during her career. In Naked Paradise (1957) and She Gods of Shark Reef (1958), directed back-to-back in Kauai by Roger Corman, she played Hawaiians.
She also showed up on several TV Westerns, including The Gene Autry Show, Broken Arrow, Tales of Wells Fargo, Colt .45, Have Gun — Will Travel, Sugarfoot, Cheyenne, Bat Masterson and Maverick.
In the sci-fi feature World Without End (1956), written and directed by Edward Bernds, Montell portrayed a woman on Earth in the 26th century, hundreds of years after a devastating atomic war, who...
Montell died March 7 in Southern California Hospital at Van Nuys of heart problems and sepsis, her daughter, Shireen Janti, told The Hollywood Reporter.
A native of Poland, Montell portrayed characters of various ethnicities during her career. In Naked Paradise (1957) and She Gods of Shark Reef (1958), directed back-to-back in Kauai by Roger Corman, she played Hawaiians.
She also showed up on several TV Westerns, including The Gene Autry Show, Broken Arrow, Tales of Wells Fargo, Colt .45, Have Gun — Will Travel, Sugarfoot, Cheyenne, Bat Masterson and Maverick.
In the sci-fi feature World Without End (1956), written and directed by Edward Bernds, Montell portrayed a woman on Earth in the 26th century, hundreds of years after a devastating atomic war, who...
- 5/10/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Myles Frost became the latest addition to the list of people who have taken home a Tony Award for their Broadway debut. His win makes him the 98th member of this particular winners’ club.
Frost, who won Best Actor in a Musical for playing Michael Jackson in “Mj,” is the 13th person to win that category for their first time stepping into a character on a Broadway stage. He joins:
Ezio Pinza, “South Pacific” (1950)
Robert Alda, “Guys and Dolls” (1951)
Robert Lindsay, “Me and My Girl” (1987)
Brent Carver, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993)
Alan Cumming, “Cabaret” (1998)
Hugh Jackman, “The Boy From Oz” (2004)
John Lloyd Young, “Jersey Boys” (2006)
Paulo Szot, “South Pacific” (2008)
David Álvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish (joint nomination), “Billy Elliot” (2009)
Douglas Hodge, “La Cage aux Folles” (2010)
See 2022 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 categories
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that have...
Frost, who won Best Actor in a Musical for playing Michael Jackson in “Mj,” is the 13th person to win that category for their first time stepping into a character on a Broadway stage. He joins:
Ezio Pinza, “South Pacific” (1950)
Robert Alda, “Guys and Dolls” (1951)
Robert Lindsay, “Me and My Girl” (1987)
Brent Carver, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993)
Alan Cumming, “Cabaret” (1998)
Hugh Jackman, “The Boy From Oz” (2004)
John Lloyd Young, “Jersey Boys” (2006)
Paulo Szot, “South Pacific” (2008)
David Álvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish (joint nomination), “Billy Elliot” (2009)
Douglas Hodge, “La Cage aux Folles” (2010)
See 2022 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 categories
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that have...
- 6/13/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
In a feature — and accompanying short film — for Vanity Fair‘s annual “Hollywood Issue,” a number of Jerry Lewis’ leading ladies, female co-stars and many other aspiring, talented women allege that the so-called King of Comedy sexually harassed and, in at least one case, sexually assaulted them.
The story and film are based in part on interviews conducted by Emmy-winning Allen v. Farrow filmmakers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick who, in 2017, began investigating Hollywood’s long history of abuse. They found that some of the most severe accusations involved Lewis.
Among those interviewed for the piece are Hope Holiday, who appeared in The Ladies Man with Lewis the year after she broke out in Billy Wilder’s The Apartment; Jill St. John, who starred opposite the comedian in Who’s Minding the Store?; Anna Maria Alberghetti, who worked with him on Cinderfella; Karen Sharpe, who played the star’s love interest in The Disorderly Orderly,...
The story and film are based in part on interviews conducted by Emmy-winning Allen v. Farrow filmmakers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick who, in 2017, began investigating Hollywood’s long history of abuse. They found that some of the most severe accusations involved Lewis.
Among those interviewed for the piece are Hope Holiday, who appeared in The Ladies Man with Lewis the year after she broke out in Billy Wilder’s The Apartment; Jill St. John, who starred opposite the comedian in Who’s Minding the Store?; Anna Maria Alberghetti, who worked with him on Cinderfella; Karen Sharpe, who played the star’s love interest in The Disorderly Orderly,...
- 2/23/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Merrill Jonas, a casting director who helped place such stars as Patricia Neal, Karl Malden, Anna Maria Alberghetti and Mel Brooks in TV commercials, has died. She was 96.
Jonas died Thursday after a long illness at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, her son, Garrett Glaser, said.
Jonas herself was a TV actress and on-camera pitchwoman in the 1950s and ’60s, appearing in more than 35 spots. Some of her lines in her ad campaigns became well known, including “Mother, please! I’d rather do it myself!” for Anacin pain reliever ...
Jonas died Thursday after a long illness at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, her son, Garrett Glaser, said.
Jonas herself was a TV actress and on-camera pitchwoman in the 1950s and ’60s, appearing in more than 35 spots. Some of her lines in her ad campaigns became well known, including “Mother, please! I’d rather do it myself!” for Anacin pain reliever ...
Merrill Jonas, a casting director who helped place such stars as Patricia Neal, Karl Malden, Anna Maria Alberghetti and Mel Brooks in TV commercials, has died. She was 96.
Jonas died Thursday after a long illness at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, her son, Garrett Glaser, said.
Jonas herself was a TV actress and on-camera pitchwoman in the 1950s and ’60s, appearing in more than 35 spots. Some of her lines in her ad campaigns became well known, including “Mother, please! I’d rather do it myself!” for Anacin pain reliever ...
Jonas died Thursday after a long illness at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, her son, Garrett Glaser, said.
Jonas herself was a TV actress and on-camera pitchwoman in the 1950s and ’60s, appearing in more than 35 spots. Some of her lines in her ad campaigns became well known, including “Mother, please! I’d rather do it myself!” for Anacin pain reliever ...
For only the third time this decade, none of the acting winners at this year’s Tony Awards did so for their Broadway debut. This is the 21st time that this has happened over the 73-year history of these top theater honors. Most of the winners were actually on the opposite end of the spectrum, winning for the first time after years of Broadway experience and several nominations to their name including André De Shields, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Stephanie J. Block. Check out the complete list of winners here.
The previous instances of Broadway debuts being shut out at the Tonys were in: 1948, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2001-2003, 2012 and 2017.
Below, you can see the names of all 96 people who have won Tonys for their debut on the Great White Way.
SEE2019 Tony Awards: Best Musical ‘Hadestown’ sweeps with 8 wins, ‘The Ferryman’ takes Best Play
Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners
Paul Scofield, “A Man for All Seasons” (1962)
Cliff Gorman,...
The previous instances of Broadway debuts being shut out at the Tonys were in: 1948, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2001-2003, 2012 and 2017.
Below, you can see the names of all 96 people who have won Tonys for their debut on the Great White Way.
SEE2019 Tony Awards: Best Musical ‘Hadestown’ sweeps with 8 wins, ‘The Ferryman’ takes Best Play
Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners
Paul Scofield, “A Man for All Seasons” (1962)
Cliff Gorman,...
- 6/10/2019
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Singer-comedienne Kaye Ballard, who starred alongside Eve Arden in the 1960s sitcom “The Mothers-in-Law” and was among the stars of the 1976 feature based on Terrence McNally’s farce “The Ritz,” died Monday in Rancho Mirage, Calif. She was 93.
She had recently attended a screening of a documentary about her life, “Kaye Ballard: The Show Goes On,” at the Palm Springs Film Festival, according to the Desert Sun, and became ill soon after.
Ballard’s career spanned stage and screen, and she was a star on Broadway when she was paired with Arden as neighbors whose kids get married on “The Mothers-in-Law,” which ran on NBC from 1967-69 and later in syndication.
On the show Ballard played Katherine “Kaye” Josephina Buell, the overly emotional wife of Roger Buell (played by Roger C. Carmel) and overprotective mother of Jerry Buell (Jerry Fogel). She was an unenthusiastic housewife, frequently spoke in Italian, and...
She had recently attended a screening of a documentary about her life, “Kaye Ballard: The Show Goes On,” at the Palm Springs Film Festival, according to the Desert Sun, and became ill soon after.
Ballard’s career spanned stage and screen, and she was a star on Broadway when she was paired with Arden as neighbors whose kids get married on “The Mothers-in-Law,” which ran on NBC from 1967-69 and later in syndication.
On the show Ballard played Katherine “Kaye” Josephina Buell, the overly emotional wife of Roger Buell (played by Roger C. Carmel) and overprotective mother of Jerry Buell (Jerry Fogel). She was an unenthusiastic housewife, frequently spoke in Italian, and...
- 1/22/2019
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
The ‘other’ Hollywood studio version of the Alamo story is quite good, with strong production values, exciting stunt battle action and something Republic Pictures didn’t manage very often, a solid screenplay. Sterling Hayden is Jim Bowie, this version’s central hero, with great backup from Anna Maria Alberghetti, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish, and Ben Cooper. But best of all is that old hay-shaker Arthur Hunnicutt, as the movies’ best and most natural Davy Crockett.
The Last Command
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1955 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date December 11, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Sterling Hayden, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish, Ben Cooper, John Russell, Virginia Grey, Jim Davis, Eduard Franz, Otto Kruger, Russell Simpson, Roy Roberts, Slim Pickens, Hugh Sanders, Morris Ankrum, Argentina Brunetti, Robert Burton.
Cinematography: Jack A. Marta
Film Editor: Tony Martinelli
Original Music: Max Steiner
Special Effects: Howard...
The Last Command
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1955 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date December 11, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Sterling Hayden, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish, Ben Cooper, John Russell, Virginia Grey, Jim Davis, Eduard Franz, Otto Kruger, Russell Simpson, Roy Roberts, Slim Pickens, Hugh Sanders, Morris Ankrum, Argentina Brunetti, Robert Burton.
Cinematography: Jack A. Marta
Film Editor: Tony Martinelli
Original Music: Max Steiner
Special Effects: Howard...
- 1/15/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ari’el Stachel became the latest person to take home a Tony Award for their Broadway debut. This victory puts him in a freshman club that now has 96 members. Watch him discuss his victory in the Tonys press room in the video above.
Stachel, who won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for playing Haled in “The Band’s Visit,” is the ninth person to claim that particular honor for his first Broadway outing. He joins:
Harry Belafonte, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” (1954)
Sydney Chaplin, “Bells are Ringing” (1957)
Frankie Michaels, “Mame” (1966)
Wilson Jermaine Heredia, “Rent” (1996)
Dan Fogler, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (2005)
Levi Kreis, “Million Dollar Quartet” (2010)
John Larroquette, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (2011)
Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton” (2016)
Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that claimed Tony Awards.
Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners
Paul Scofield,...
Stachel, who won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for playing Haled in “The Band’s Visit,” is the ninth person to claim that particular honor for his first Broadway outing. He joins:
Harry Belafonte, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” (1954)
Sydney Chaplin, “Bells are Ringing” (1957)
Frankie Michaels, “Mame” (1966)
Wilson Jermaine Heredia, “Rent” (1996)
Dan Fogler, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (2005)
Levi Kreis, “Million Dollar Quartet” (2010)
John Larroquette, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (2011)
Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton” (2016)
Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that claimed Tony Awards.
Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners
Paul Scofield,...
- 6/11/2018
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
The most unforgettable moment from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, out of dozens of contenders: Mary sits at the bar with her newsroom co-workers, drinking their sorrows away. They've had a grim day – her cranky boss Lou Grant just attended his ex-wife's wedding, while he's still reeling from the divorce, so the others tagged along for moral support. Pompous anchorman Ted Baxter tries to lighten the mood with a knock-knock joke. Lou growls, "Ted, this better be a pretty funny knock-knock joke. I lost a wife today." It's a godawful joke.
- 1/25/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Paul Henreid in ‘Casablanca’: Freedom Fighter on screen, Blacklisted ‘Subversive’ off screen Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013, Paul Henreid, bids you farewell this evening. TCM left the most popular, if not exactly the best, for last: Casablanca, Michael Curtiz’s 1943 Best Picture Oscar-winning drama, is showing at 7 p.m. Pt tonight. (Photo: Paul Henreid sings "La Marseillaise" in Casablanca.) One of the best-remembered movies of the studio era, Casablanca — not set in a Spanish or Mexican White House — features Paul Henreid as Czechoslovakian underground leader Victor Laszlo, Ingrid Bergman’s husband but not her True Love. That’s Humphrey Bogart, owner of a cafe in the titular Moroccan city. Henreid’s anti-Nazi hero is generally considered one of least interesting elements in Casablanca, but Alt Film Guide contributor Dan Schneider thinks otherwise. In any case, Victor Laszlo feels like a character made to order for Paul Henreid,...
- 7/31/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
By Hannah Soo Park
We've got our eye on another fairytale remake, with today's news that Cate Blanchett may be lending her signature ice-cold gaze to the part of Cinderella's evil stepmother in Disney's upcoming untitled project. According to The Wrap, the "Hobbit" star is the first in talks to join Mark Romanek's live-action rendition on the classic tale.
Before you roll your eyes at the thought of yet another take on happily ever after, consider the plot, which follows a doomed politically arranged marriage plot involving a prince and, of course, Cinderella. With Blanchett and Romanek on board, we're thinking this one won't involve pumpkin carriages and talking mice.
With that said, this won't be the first twist added to the preexisting cookie-cutter storyline—from the Muppets to gender role reversals, we break down some of the most unexpected and wacky twists we've seen in Cinderella's movie past.
We've got our eye on another fairytale remake, with today's news that Cate Blanchett may be lending her signature ice-cold gaze to the part of Cinderella's evil stepmother in Disney's upcoming untitled project. According to The Wrap, the "Hobbit" star is the first in talks to join Mark Romanek's live-action rendition on the classic tale.
Before you roll your eyes at the thought of yet another take on happily ever after, consider the plot, which follows a doomed politically arranged marriage plot involving a prince and, of course, Cinderella. With Blanchett and Romanek on board, we're thinking this one won't involve pumpkin carriages and talking mice.
With that said, this won't be the first twist added to the preexisting cookie-cutter storyline—from the Muppets to gender role reversals, we break down some of the most unexpected and wacky twists we've seen in Cinderella's movie past.
- 11/28/2012
- by MTV Movies Team
- MTV Movies Blog
On Tuesday night, the Paley Center in Beverly Hills hosted a cocktail party for Debbie Reynolds and the incredible costume, props and photos she has collected over the past forty years that will be auctioned off beginning on June 18. Cari Beauchamp reports: As soon as guests, as diverse as Nancy Sinatra, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Patricia Heaton, Buzz Aldrin and Mimi Rogers, got past the obligatory red carpet and entered the foyer of the Paley, they were greeted by what was clearly an almost overwhelming display of movie memories. A painting of Garbo as Camille, two of the rare Marion Davies portraits Hearst commissioned with each of her films and then the gem of the collection, Marilyn Monroe's "subway grate" dress from The Seven Year ...
- 6/10/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
If you thought Anne Hathaway was brave for singing and dancing with Hugh Jackman on the recent Oscarcast, that was a walk in the park compared with her next performance — playing Judy Garland on both stage and screen. The Oscar-nominated actress ("Rachel Getting Married") is to star in upcoming film and legit adaptations of Gerald Clarke's 2000 biography "Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland."
With the Weinstein Co. producing both these properties, Anne Hathaway is in good hands. While there is no word as to any of the other creatives involved in these projects, the source material is rich with possibilities, including as it does material in Judy Garland's own words. Gerald Clarke's biography of the late, great writer Truman Capote was the basis for "Capote," which was nominated for five awards at the 2005 Oscars including best picture and won lead actor for Philip Seymour Hoffman.
With the Weinstein Co. producing both these properties, Anne Hathaway is in good hands. While there is no word as to any of the other creatives involved in these projects, the source material is rich with possibilities, including as it does material in Judy Garland's own words. Gerald Clarke's biography of the late, great writer Truman Capote was the basis for "Capote," which was nominated for five awards at the 2005 Oscars including best picture and won lead actor for Philip Seymour Hoffman.
- 3/24/2009
- by tomoneil
- Gold Derby
By Matt Singer
What happens when you put the classic Cinderella story together with a modern setting or flip the protagonists' sexes? A whole lot more than bippity-boppity-boo. In honor of the new film "Year of the Fish," a self-proclaimed "Cinderella in a Chinatown massage parlour," here are five more unique reinventions of this durable fairy tale popularized by French author Charles Perrault in 1697. Read quickly, though: at the stroke of midnight, this article turns back into zeros and ones.
"Ever After" (1998)
Directed by Andy Tennant
The Brothers Grimm are called before the Grand Dame of France (Jeanne Moreau) to set the record straight on the "real" Cinderella, who had no magical benefactors or means of conveyance, though she did get some wardrobe support from Leonardo da Vinci (Patrick Godfrey). Actually named Danielle De Barbarac (Drew Barrymore), she was living in servitude to her stepmother, Baroness Rodmilla (Angelica Huston) when...
What happens when you put the classic Cinderella story together with a modern setting or flip the protagonists' sexes? A whole lot more than bippity-boppity-boo. In honor of the new film "Year of the Fish," a self-proclaimed "Cinderella in a Chinatown massage parlour," here are five more unique reinventions of this durable fairy tale popularized by French author Charles Perrault in 1697. Read quickly, though: at the stroke of midnight, this article turns back into zeros and ones.
"Ever After" (1998)
Directed by Andy Tennant
The Brothers Grimm are called before the Grand Dame of France (Jeanne Moreau) to set the record straight on the "real" Cinderella, who had no magical benefactors or means of conveyance, though she did get some wardrobe support from Leonardo da Vinci (Patrick Godfrey). Actually named Danielle De Barbarac (Drew Barrymore), she was living in servitude to her stepmother, Baroness Rodmilla (Angelica Huston) when...
- 8/29/2008
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
Regent Entertainment
A droll Mafia-movie sendup, "Friends and Family" centers on a lavish deception by a debonair gay Manhattanite who hasn't come out to his parents -- as a mob enforcer. Greg Lauren and Christopher Gartin ably lead an amiable cast of newcomers and seasoned pros, portraying devoted partners in life and crime who pose as caterers, eagerly abetted in their scheme by the Sicilian family for which they serve as trusted lieutenants.
The script by Joseph Triebwasser economically unfolds the rich setup but doesn't fully mine its comic potential, content to play gently with types rather than delve into characters. Nonetheless, this painless, sweet comedy could cook up niche action among the "gays and grays" distributor Regency is targeting when it opens May 16 in Los Angeles before a rollout into other markets.
Culture clash looms over the sophisticated Patrizzi clan, headed by the even-tempered Victor (Tony Lo Bianco), as two sets of Midwestern parents prepare to descend on New York. The Torcellis are visiting son Stephen (Lauren) and his boyfriend, Danny (Gartin), while Patrizzi daughter Jenny (Rebecca Creskoff) and her fiance Brian Lane Green) await the arrival of his folks.
Beth Fowler and, especially, Frank Pellegrino are believable as the intrusive Mrs. Torcelli and her mild-mannered husband. The Jennings, on the other hand, are a cartoonish whitebread duo who secretly lead a ragtag right-wing militia and who seize upon the trip to the Big Bad Apple as an opportunity to wage war against the "occupying federal army." Tovah Feldshuh is the unlikely leader of the plot, overdoing the comic shtick as the mom/mastermind who's perpetually exasperated with her inept husband (Patrick Collins).
The funniest mom here is the fierce Patrizzi matriarch (long-time-no-see Anna Maria Alberghetti). Unwilling to accept the truth about her sons (Danny Mastrogiorgio and Lou Carbonneau) -- straight men with talents for cooking and clothing design but no taste for the family business -- Stella repeatedly tries to convince her husband of their toughness.
Over Stella's objections, the Patrizzi sons are put to work preparing an extravagant dinner party to celebrate Stephen's father's birthday, with the family's brawny hit men enlisted as waiters for the central couple's phantom catering company. A friend of Stephen and Danny's (an exuberant Edward Hibbert) promptly begins coaching the wiseguys -- not in table service but in "The Sound of Music", Liz Taylor's marriages and other essential knowledge for any self-respecting gay man.
There's something deliriously fresh about the collision of queens, mobsters and white supremacists, but rather than igniting in comic sparks, they meet mildly. Debuting film director Kristen Coury has a feel for interpersonal dynamics but is less confident when staging larger groups, and the hoped-for hilarity doesn't quite materialize in the climactic sequence, which forgoes friction in favor of the familiar.
As the loving couple who know their way around automatic weapons but haven't a clue about spatulas, Lauren and Gartin are appealing and, with Lo Bianco and Pellegrino, come off best here for not trying too hard. The low-budget pic's production values are fine overall, with the exception of harsh, distracting lighting in early scenes.
A droll Mafia-movie sendup, "Friends and Family" centers on a lavish deception by a debonair gay Manhattanite who hasn't come out to his parents -- as a mob enforcer. Greg Lauren and Christopher Gartin ably lead an amiable cast of newcomers and seasoned pros, portraying devoted partners in life and crime who pose as caterers, eagerly abetted in their scheme by the Sicilian family for which they serve as trusted lieutenants.
The script by Joseph Triebwasser economically unfolds the rich setup but doesn't fully mine its comic potential, content to play gently with types rather than delve into characters. Nonetheless, this painless, sweet comedy could cook up niche action among the "gays and grays" distributor Regency is targeting when it opens May 16 in Los Angeles before a rollout into other markets.
Culture clash looms over the sophisticated Patrizzi clan, headed by the even-tempered Victor (Tony Lo Bianco), as two sets of Midwestern parents prepare to descend on New York. The Torcellis are visiting son Stephen (Lauren) and his boyfriend, Danny (Gartin), while Patrizzi daughter Jenny (Rebecca Creskoff) and her fiance Brian Lane Green) await the arrival of his folks.
Beth Fowler and, especially, Frank Pellegrino are believable as the intrusive Mrs. Torcelli and her mild-mannered husband. The Jennings, on the other hand, are a cartoonish whitebread duo who secretly lead a ragtag right-wing militia and who seize upon the trip to the Big Bad Apple as an opportunity to wage war against the "occupying federal army." Tovah Feldshuh is the unlikely leader of the plot, overdoing the comic shtick as the mom/mastermind who's perpetually exasperated with her inept husband (Patrick Collins).
The funniest mom here is the fierce Patrizzi matriarch (long-time-no-see Anna Maria Alberghetti). Unwilling to accept the truth about her sons (Danny Mastrogiorgio and Lou Carbonneau) -- straight men with talents for cooking and clothing design but no taste for the family business -- Stella repeatedly tries to convince her husband of their toughness.
Over Stella's objections, the Patrizzi sons are put to work preparing an extravagant dinner party to celebrate Stephen's father's birthday, with the family's brawny hit men enlisted as waiters for the central couple's phantom catering company. A friend of Stephen and Danny's (an exuberant Edward Hibbert) promptly begins coaching the wiseguys -- not in table service but in "The Sound of Music", Liz Taylor's marriages and other essential knowledge for any self-respecting gay man.
There's something deliriously fresh about the collision of queens, mobsters and white supremacists, but rather than igniting in comic sparks, they meet mildly. Debuting film director Kristen Coury has a feel for interpersonal dynamics but is less confident when staging larger groups, and the hoped-for hilarity doesn't quite materialize in the climactic sequence, which forgoes friction in favor of the familiar.
As the loving couple who know their way around automatic weapons but haven't a clue about spatulas, Lauren and Gartin are appealing and, with Lo Bianco and Pellegrino, come off best here for not trying too hard. The low-budget pic's production values are fine overall, with the exception of harsh, distracting lighting in early scenes.
- 5/16/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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