A common theme that runs through most Mafia films is family. Think of The Godfather. It opens with a wedding where everyone is gathered and the entire trilogy is still focused on emphasizing family respect. Fast forward to TV's The Sopranos. If you stick it in a genre, it'd be a mobster show. In reality, it's all about family. Which brings me to the British comedy, American Cousins. It's a simple poke at the Mafia genre yet, right there in the title, that family thing is right there in plain view.

Roberto (Gerald Lepkowski) leads a quiet life. He runs the family business, a fish and chip/ice cream joint, in Glasgow, Scotland. He's in love with the restaurant's waitress (Shirley Henderson) but he's too shy to tell her. Roberto dreams of one day following through with his late father's dream of opening a bigger, swankier joint next door.

Enter Gino (Danny Nucci) and Settimo (Dan Hedaya), Roberto's American cousins looking for refuge in a foreign land. You see, Gino and Settimo are mobsters who were at the center of a big-time screw-up so now they've been forced into hiding. It's a matter of cultures and manners clashing as Roberto and the boys teach one another a thing or two about life with often hilarious results.

American Cousins is best described as cute. It's by no means deep nor is the plot anything more than a slight variation on the fish-out-of-water plot device put in the context of a Mafia genre flick. What makes the film special is the focus on building endearing characters amidst the clichés. Like My Big Fat Greek Wedding (the comparisons end with this sentence), American Cousins starts out with weak characterization that are based almost solely in ethnicity. But as time goes by Gino and Settimo get over their infatuation with the surface Scottish culture and the film starts to hone in on everyone's individual quirks. Combined with clear motivations, these send the characters beyond stereotypes and make them all personal. In turn, I felt for each and every one of the protagonists and that goes a long way in embracing a film, even if everything else is pretty shallow.

Shirley Henderson in particular stands out as the roaring mouse of sorts, Alice. Heading into the middle-age phase of life, she wants to settle down with a loving husband and start a family. She tried it once in the past but her first husband was a slime ball. Henderson is a small woman and her quiet voice isn't much more than a whisper. Yet, no matter who owns the diner and however many guns the boys might be packing, Alice is the real boss. She's assertive and to the point. She doesn't take any crap and doesn't mind dishing it out if need be. Director Dan Coutts takes advantage of the contradictions in Alice's appearance to her attitude to make her one of the most lovable characters I've seen all year.

American Cousins is a quirky crowd-pleaser that builds off of the strength of strong characters to draw its audience in. And judging from the constant and boisterous enthusiasm I witnessed throughout the entire movie, Coutts and company should consider it a success.

©Movie Views; October 3, 2003