A visit from a distant relative teaches a modern family about old-fashioned values in this family drama. Robert Micelli (Joe Mantegna) and his wife Marie (Anne Archer) are a couple living in Chicago with their two children, 15-year-old Bobby (Trevor Morgan) and 12-year-old Gina (Gina Mantegna). The Micelli Family is not as close as it once was; Robert is busy with work as he tries to earn a promotion, Marie has given up on cooking as a hobby, Bobby has started a rock & roll band with his friends
and prefers to hang out with them, and Gina wants both a puppy and more attention from her dad. One day, Robert's elderly Uncle Nino (Pierrino Mascarino) arrives for a visit from Italy -- much to the surprise of the family, since Gina misplaced the letter Nino sent to announce his impending arrival. It doesn't take long for Nino to see that he's staying with an unhappy family, and he reaches out to them, reintroducing Marie to her love of good food, teaching Bobby about music, and teaching Gina about caring for pets and enjoying life; however, convincing Robert to spend more time with his family and less time worrying about work turns out to be a tough sell. Uncle Nino initially failed to find a distributor until the film's producers booked it into a theater in Grand Rapids, MI, where the film became a surprise hit playing to steady crowds for over a year. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Shallcross fails to infuse the proceedings with the wit or distinctiveness necessary to lift it above the crop of its so many similar-themed predecessors.
Both movies have familiar and even hokey aspects, but they're also sincere rather than cynical, and there's something affecting about the very similar messages they're peddling.
This is not my kind of movie, and I found myself feeling mighty restless by the end, or even halfway through, or even near the beginning, but objectively I know there are people who will embrace this movie.
The message is timeless. Family matters. Tell people you love them. Despite its predictability, the movie works because it is completely without guile.
Nino acts like an Italian fairy-god-uncle... transforming this house into a home - where flowers thrive, violin music fills the air, and everybody eats dinner together.
Heartwarming is not always a bad thing. Consider this family film from writer-director Robert Shallcross: It's not only warm and fuzzy in all the right places, it's something that the whole family might actually enjoy.
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