Vinny Pallazzo (Jay Acovone) is a retired gangster who has left the mafia after a disastrous incident. Now working as a clerk in a dusty bookshop of Los Angeles, he has to look after his young, reckless nephew Anthony (Matt LeBlanc), who lives fast, spending his time between seducing girls at the bookshop, dancing in nightclubs and playing poker games with friends. Vinny tries to do everything so that Anthony doesn't cross paths with mafia and gang wars, as he is afraid that his brash and hot-blooded nephew might end up like his father - dead. But that may be a lot more difficult than it sounds, especially after Anthony's girlfriend is brutally killed with another friend of his, by a gang. Anthony wants then to be avenged, especially after learning the truth about his father.
A low-budget independent movie, Lookin' Italian is meant to be, in director Guy Magar words, "an hommage to Scorsese and to Italian-American culture ... To me, the words "Lookin' Italian" mean "lookin' good".[2]
Magar also mentioned in his autobiography about the good friendship between Acovone and LeBlanc as the first took the latter under his wing and helped him with his acting.
Vet TV director Guy Magar takes an able cast through the paces of a story that feels stitched together from too many well-worn sources. The story of an ex-Mafioso who tries to start a new life, but finds it difficult to shake family allegiances and his violent past, Lookin' Italian fails to overcome the script's familiar turns and hoary cliches. Inconsistencies in tone, ranging from Revenge of the Nerds humor to bloody Tarantino-style mayhem and A Bronx Tale domestic melodrama, further distance pic from theatrical contention. The attractive leads and colorful supporting characters may help only enough for a video spot. ... With solid tech support, pic looks and sounds fine, but could use some judicious editing, especially in the draggy first act. An excess of repetitive dialogue could use pruning as well.[3]
On the other hand, other newspapers gave some good reviews, especially for a low-budget and low-promoted film. The Press Enterprise remarked, for example, that Lookin' Italian was "A powerful, smart and sassy independently-made film that comes together so well – blending comedy and drama, issues and entertainment – is a tribute to Guy Magar who made it for the low Hollywood cost of under $1-million!"[4]
NotesEdit
^ abcdefghij"Lookin' Italian (1994)". The A.V. Club.
^Kiss Me Quick Before I Shoot (Magar's autobiography)
lookin, italian, 1994, american, crime, film, directed, magar, starring, acovone, matt, leblanc, directed, byguy, magarscreenplay, byguy, magarproduced, byguy, magarstarringjay, acovone, matt, leblanc, stephanie, richards, rawlscinematographygerry, livelyedite. Lookin Italian is a 1994 American crime film directed by Guy Magar and starring Jay Acovone and Matt LeBlanc Lookin ItalianDirected byGuy MagarScreenplay byGuy MagarProduced byGuy MagarStarringJay Acovone Matt LeBlanc Stephanie Richards Lou RawlsCinematographyGerry LivelyEdited byGreg HarrisonMusic byJeff BealRelease dateJanuary 1994Running time97 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguagesEnglishItalianBudget 380 000 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Critical reception 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksSynopsis EditVinny Pallazzo Jay Acovone is a retired gangster who has left the mafia after a disastrous incident Now working as a clerk in a dusty bookshop of Los Angeles he has to look after his young reckless nephew Anthony Matt LeBlanc who lives fast spending his time between seducing girls at the bookshop dancing in nightclubs and playing poker games with friends Vinny tries to do everything so that Anthony doesn t cross paths with mafia and gang wars as he is afraid that his brash and hot blooded nephew might end up like his father dead But that may be a lot more difficult than it sounds especially after Anthony s girlfriend is brutally killed with another friend of his by a gang Anthony wants then to be avenged especially after learning the truth about his father Cast EditJay Acovone as Vinny Pallazzo 1 Matt LeBlanc as Anthony Manetti 1 Stephanie Richards as Danielle 1 John La Motta as Don Dinardo 1 Ralph Manza as Manza 1 Lou Rawls as Willy 1 Daniel O Callaghan as Buster Real Andrews as Riva 1 Tommy Morgan Jr credited as Tommy Morgan as Leon 1 Nichole Carter as Dominique 1 Argentina Brunetti plays a grandmother 1 Denise Richards credited as Denise Lee Richards portrays Elizabeth Production EditA low budget independent movie Lookin Italian is meant to be in director Guy Magar words an hommage to Scorsese and to Italian American culture To me the words Lookin Italian mean lookin good 2 Magar also mentioned in his autobiography about the good friendship between Acovone and LeBlanc as the first took the latter under his wing and helped him with his acting Critical reception EditThe critical response was mixed Variety said Vet TV director Guy Magar takes an able cast through the paces of a story that feels stitched together from too many well worn sources The story of an ex Mafioso who tries to start a new life but finds it difficult to shake family allegiances and his violent past Lookin Italian fails to overcome the script s familiar turns and hoary cliches Inconsistencies in tone ranging from Revenge of the Nerds humor to bloody Tarantino style mayhem and A Bronx Tale domestic melodrama further distance pic from theatrical contention The attractive leads and colorful supporting characters may help only enough for a video spot With solid tech support pic looks and sounds fine but could use some judicious editing especially in the draggy first act An excess of repetitive dialogue could use pruning as well 3 On the other hand other newspapers gave some good reviews especially for a low budget and low promoted film The Press Enterprise remarked for example that Lookin Italian was A powerful smart and sassy independently made film that comes together so well blending comedy and drama issues and entertainment is a tribute to Guy Magar who made it for the low Hollywood cost of under 1 million 4 Notes Edit a b c d e f g h i j Lookin Italian 1994 The A V Club Kiss Me Quick Before I Shoot Magar s autobiography Article from Variety 01 13 1994 Action Cut ArticleReferences EditKiss Me Quick Before I Shoot by Guy Magar The critic from Variety Magazine 01 13 1994 Article containing some reviews of this movie as well as others by Guy MagarExternal links EditLookin Italian at IMDb Lookin Italian at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lookin 27 Italian amp oldid 1159041754, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
