Marty starring Ernest Borgnine? I can’t remember where it takes place, but I am guessing Brooklyn. It has one of my all-time favorite movie quotes:
Mrs. Piletti (to Aunt Catherine): Wherever you go, rain goes. Someday you’re gonna smile - and we’re all gonna have a big party.
Top 10 Movies About Italian Americans That Don’t Involve the Mafia.
Ones set in New York include:
Kiss Me Guido
Mac
True Love
Marty
Moonstruck
My Cousin Vinny involves Italian-Americans from New York but isn’t set there.
Big Night is set in New Jersey.
Raging Bull doesn’t involve the Mafia, but I wouldn’t regard it as a positive portrayal.
I was going to suggest Raging Bull, but then remembered there was a lot of organized crime stuff in the fixing of the fights. Or am I remembering that wrong?
I fixed it.
There is, but I think the mob stuff is peripheral to the main story. Jake, however, is definitely a “violent, misogynistic, foul-mouthed greaseball.”
Thanks, Marley!
Well, that’s really hard to find. Without the stereotype, the only way to find out their in-film nationality is if they announce it. Just because the actor is italian-american (Deniro) doesn’t mean the character in the film is as well. I’m thinking of the scene from Crash where the female cop says “I’m Cuban” (or Puerto-rican or something) as the only way to find out, and those films will be few and far between.
For example, films about black people where they aren’t black in the film would leave only a single historical example, Othello, who has been portrayed customarily by a black person since time immemorial.
Conversely, the Japanese production of Wicked would feature a Japanese actor as the Wizard from Kansas. In story, he’s a caucasian american.
In The Shawshank Redemption, Morgan Freeman says he’s Irish. This is in fact true, as in the original story he was a red-haired Caucasian. It just so happens he is portrayed by a black person.
I’m not sure I’m following you.
I’m not asking about films featuring Italian Americans that don’t show Italian American culture. Italian American culture is fine. I doubt the posters in this thread who have posted suggestions stumbled across them by searching for movies that were marketed in a special way.
If someone wanted to watch a movie about black people that doesn’t involve gangstas or urban poverty, I wouldn’t have any problem doing this. If you watch enough movies, particular movies that are targeted to your demographic, you will eventually find some that don’t truck in stereotypes.
There’s the character’s name as well; Italian-American names are generally pretty obvious (although someone can be Italian-American without having an Italian last name).
Stereotypes are often based on real cultural elements, even if exaggerated. My Bronx neighbors do talk like the people in Summer of Sam, and some of them dress and act like guidos too. And there is a Mafia presence in the neighborhood as well. But you can show Italian-American culture without making everyone out to be a goombah.
What I’m saying is the only way to figure out if the character is Italian-American without the stereotypes is if they announce they are Italian-american or the source material says they are Italian-american. Unless there are Italian-american stereotypes that guidos/gumbahs don’t use that only non-guido/gumbah Italian-Americans do.
The best example above is Saturday Night Fever, but I also remember the Mafia eating a metric ton of spaghetti in Goodfellas.
On top of these, Mafia films feature a ton of non-stereotypical guido/gumbah behavior, e.g. Donnie Brasco. So now, when an Italian-american family gives a cash gift to each other, would that also count?
Come to think of it, you’ll have better luck finding mafia movies without mafia stereotypes. Casino springs to mind.
Give the characters last names like “DiFazio” or “Rizzo”. Set the movie in Little Italy. Have the characters’ grandmother speak in Italian, or with an Italian accent. There are plenty of options.
And another one, I don’t think Super Mario Bros. has any Mafia connections, though it does have a few goombas.
Robert DeNiro is an example of the opposite. People assume he’s Italian-American because of his name. But he’s actually more Irish-American than Italian-American.
But I’ll admit I thought the characters in Mystic Pizza were Italian-American until I checked and saw they’re actually Portuguese-American.
My mistake.
I vote for this. A great movie featuring Italian Americans as the protagonists, no mafia or guidos to be found.
He had to throw a fight, to appease the mob to get a title shot.
There was a documentary about Italian American films I saw maybe 10 or 15 years ago; there were some really good films portrayed, but I don’t remember the name of the documentary - and I could not find it a few weeks ago even though I spent a half hour doing an internet search. Does anyone know what documentary that was?
I absolutely loved Kiss Me Guido and for years afterward, every time I saw GWM in the newspaper I immediately thought “Guy With Money!” but a movie with “Guido” in the title pretty clearly does have the “Guido” stereotype.
As others have mentioned, Big Night doesn’t have any of the usual stereotypes. And it is a truly excellent movie.
Is this what you’re thinking of?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0892437/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_13
Beyond Wiseguys: Italian-Americans and the Movies.