''Little Italy'' is a 2018 Canadian-American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by

Donald Petrie Donald Mark Petrie (born April 2, 1954) is an American film director and actor. Life and career Petrie was born in New York City, New York (state), New York, the son of Dorothea G. Petrie, Dorothea (née Grundy), a television producer, actor, a ...

, with a screenplay by

Steve Galluccio Steve Galluccio (born October 9, 1960) is a Canadian screenwriter and playwright, most noted for his play ''Mambo Italiano'' and its feature film adaptation '' Mambo Italiano''. Background Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec to immigrant parents ...

and Vinay Virmani from a story by Virmani. The film stars

Emma Roberts Emma Rose Roberts (born February 10, 1991 Additional on October 9, 2016) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television projects of the horror and thriller genres, she has received various accolades, including a Young Arti ...

Hayden Christensen Hayden Christensen (; born April 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the ''Star Wars'' media franchise. He first appeared in the prequel trilogy films, '' Star Wars: Episode ...

Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'', Jennifer Mancini in '' Melrose Place'', Phoebe Halliwell in ''Charmed'', Billie Cunningham in '' My Name Is Earl'', Sa ...

Adam Ferrara Adam Ferrara is an American actor and comedian known for playing the role of Chief "Needles" Nelson on the FX series '' Rescue Me''. He was a co-host on the U.S. version of ''Top Gear'' and played NYPD Sgt. Frank Verelli opposite Edie Falco on ...

Gary Basaraba Gary Basaraba (born March 16, 1959) is a Canadian actor. He appeared as Sergeant Richard Santoro on Steven Bochco's ''Brooklyn South'' and Officer Ray Hechler on the critically acclaimed but short-lived ''Boomtown''. He has worked for Martin ...

Linda Kash Linda Kash (born 17 January 1961) is a Canadian actress. Career An alumna of Second City, she played Trudy Weissman in the 1998 Jean Smart sitcom '' Style & Substance''. She has also played various roles in popular television series, such as ' ...

Andrew Phung Andrew Phung is a Canadian actor, improviser, and comedian. He played the character Kimchee Han on the CBC Television sitcom ''Kim's Convenience''."A Convenience truth; Andrew Phung stars in new TV series about an Asian corner store". ''Ottawa C ...

Cristina Rosato Cristina Rosato (born January 6, 1983) is a Canadian actress. She has also appeared in TV series such as ''Rookie Blue'', ''Trauma'' and ''Turner and Hooch''. Early life Rosato grew up in the Italian neighborhood of Montreal and spent summer ...

Danny Aiello Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. () (June 20, 1933 – December 12, 2019) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including '' The Godfather Part II'' (1974), '' The Front'' (1976), ''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984), ''Hide ...

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

and

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...

. The film features one of Aiello's final film appearances before his death in 2019.

Plot

Nikki and Leo both grow up in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...

neighborhood, where their families are running a

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, on ...

business together. After winning a pizza competition together, a feud developed between Nikki's father Sal and Leo's father Vince which caused them to dissolve their partnership and start separate restaurants next door to each other. The pair have never told anyone what started the feud between them. Nikki eventually leaves her family to go to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to become a

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a ki ...

, while Leo remains in Toronto to work at his father's restaurant. After several years, Nikki is given the option to compete for the chance to run her instructor Corinne's new restaurant. Corinne gives Nikki two weeks off to prepare her menu and return home to Toronto. Leo still works at his father's restaurant but has moved out of his parents' house and lives with his friend Luigi above Luigi's bar, where Leo also bartends. The feud between Vince and Sal has escalated over the years, with Vince having Sal investigated for

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...

and Sal attempting to have Vince's

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n employee Jogi deported. Upon arriving home in Toronto, Nikki meets Leo at the bar and they drunkenly play soccer in a midst of a thunderstorm. Nikki passes out and spends the night at Leo's, while he sleeps on the couch. The next day, she is welcomed by her family on her arrival. Vince and Jogi are arrested after Sal and his Indian employee Jessie replace the oregano at Vince's restaurant with

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...

, but are soon released. Jessie and Jogi share a mutual unspoken attraction, despite working for the rival restaurants. Additionally, Leo's grandfather Carlo and Nikki's grandmother Franca have been dating in secret as they only outwardly participate in the feud. Nikki's mother and friends try to set her up with several single men from the neighborhood, but she is uninterested. She grows closer to Leo as they cook together at his apartment, and is impressed with his creativity and cooking skills. Carlo proposes to Franca and professes his love for her, but she walks away without giving him an answer. Nikki encourages Leo to serve his pizza out of Vince's restaurant, but he tells her his father is stubborn and opposed to changing the menu. He confides in her that he will open his own restaurant after his father retires, so he will not be forced to compete with Vince. Franca finally agrees to marry Carlo despite her promise not to remarry after her husband died. Nikki and Leo go for a ride around Little Italy, where they relive their childhood experiences together. They return to Leo's apartment, where they sleep together. Nikki receives a call from Corinne, reminding her that she needs the menu in a few days, otherwise she will promote another chef. Struggling, Nikki expresses her regrets to Leo. Franca and Carlo arrange a dinner for the families, during which they announce their relationship, but do not reveal their engagement. Upset at the revelation that their parents have been dating, Sal and Vince begin exchanging insults. Vince proposes entering a pizza competition against Sal saying that whoever loses will have to leave Little Italy. When they are reminded they are banned from the competition because of their fight years ago, they decide to have Nikki and Leo enter the competition. Nikki initially refuses to compete, and Vince asserts it is because she afraid to face Leo. Nikki and Leo start arguing about who let who win in soccer when they were kids. Leo makes a reference to them sleeping together the night before, and Nikki slaps him and storms out in anger. At the competition, Leo is declared the winner and Nikki departs to the airport for London. However, Leo refuses to take the trophy after he realizes that Nikki had purposely switched their sauces so that Leo would win. Realizing that Nikki has gone to the airport, Leo and their families go after her. At the airport, Leo finds Nikki and declares that all he wants in life is her and that he is in love with her. Although she initially appear to reject him, she ultimately decides to stay with Leo. She declares her mutual love for him and they kiss. They confront their fathers about their fight years ago, and Sal and Vince admit that the fight was indirectly about their parents Franca and Carlo. In 1999, after winning the pizza competition, Sal and Vince argued about who to name the winning pizza after, resulting in the beginning of the rivalry. Franca and Carlo finally announce that they are getting married. Sal and Vince hug each other, formally ending the rivalry. Some time later, the families celebrate at Nikki and Leo's new restaurant. Corinne, who came to Toronto to convince Nikki to return to London, reveals that she had to shut down her new restaurant after receiving negative reviews from critics. The families all dance together, and Nikki and Leo finally set up Jessie and Jogi as a couple.

Cast

as Nicoletta "Nikki" Angioli ** Ava Preston as young Nikki *

as Leonard "Leo" Campoli ** Nicky Cappella as young Leo *

as Dora Angioli *

as Salvatore "Sal" Angioli *

as Vincenzo "Vince" Campoli *

as Amelia Campoli *

as Luigi *

as Gina *

as Carlo *

as Franca *

as Corinne *

Amrit Kaur Dame Rajkumari Bibiji Amrit Kaur (''née'' Ahluwalia) DStJ (2 February 1887 – 6 February 1964) was an Indian activist and politician. Following her long-lasting association with the Indian independence movement, she was appointed the first ...

as Jessie * Vas Saranga as Jogi

Production

In July 2017, it was announced

, and

had joined the cast of the film, with

directing from a screenplay by

and Vinay Virmani. Pauline Dhillon and Ajay Virmani served as producers on the film, while

Fred Fuchs Frederic S. Fuchs is a television and film producer active in the United States and Canada, where he holds dual citizenship. He became an executive in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on April 3, 2006. Fuchs became known for the televisio ...

, Tiffany Kuzon, Patrick Roy and Christina Kubacki served as executive producers, under their Firsttake Entertainment,

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in ...

and Gem Entertainment banners, respectively.

Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...

handled distribution in Canada.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...

began in June 2017.

Release

The film was released in Canada on August 24, 2018, by

and in the United States on September 21, 2018, by

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

Reception

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reported that of critics have given the film a positive review, based on reviews, with an average rating of . On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 28 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews." The movie was widely mocked as one of the worst movies of the year. It was the pick for episode 206 of the podcast ''

How Did This Get Made? ''How Did This Get Made?'' (''HDTGM'') is a podcast on the Earwolf network. It is hosted by Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas with occasional substitutes and/or guest hosts. Each episode features the deconstruction and mockery ...

'', which discusses unusually terrible films. When trailers were released confirming it was an actual movie, the film was widely mocked on social media and failed to get a wide theatrical release, screening in just a handful of theatres and being made available On Demand while still in theatres.

References

External links

* {{Donald Petrie 2018 romantic comedy films 2018 films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2010s Canadian films American romantic comedy films Canadian romantic comedy films English-language Canadian films Films about chefs Films about dysfunctional families Films about widowhood Films directed by Donald Petrie Films set in 1999 Films set in 2018 Films set in London Films set in restaurants Films set in Toronto Films shot in Toronto Lionsgate films Voltage Pictures films Works about Italian-Canadian culture