Little Italy (2018) - USA / Canada
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
These kind of cheesy yet formulaic romantic comedies used to splash the screens of Hollywood, nowadays they mostly belong to the VOD market. “Little Italy” makes the most of its location, characters and a highly predictable romantic plot line. I won’t say this is a successful film as there is nothing special or even groundbreaking emotional, but it serve as a certain market. Pairing rising star Emma Roberts and fading once-a-talent Hayden Christensen, the two have decent chemistry and are likeable enough to last the duration in a feel-good manner.
Emma Roberts is an obvious talent and someone that can probably follow her famous aunt footsteps (i.e. Julia Roberts). She has the on-screen charisma and likeable presence. Hayden Christensen is really more of an unfulfilled potential that is still waiting for that breakthrough role to shine. Whilst the duo shared good chemistry, it’s the supporting cast of respective families that makes the film fun and enjoyable to watch. Especially Danny Aiello and Andrea Martin impresses and steal scenery with their lovely courtship.
However, both leads are clearly not Italian-American and that’s an issue. Director Donald Petrie captures “Little Italy” and relies the supporting cast of Italian actors to upstage the atmosphere. Still, this is a harmless romantic comedy that never wants to be taken too seriously, it is lighthearted with predictable romances. Really, we should expect too much.
I rated it 6/10