Little Kings

Publish date: 2024-09-17

"Little Kings" of the title are three Italian brothers: Dominic, who's in love with his brother Gino's very pregnant wife; Gino, who's having an affair with another woman; and youngest brother Johnny, who's boinking his pretty first cousin. This "McMillan Brothers" wannabe is distinguished by bad acting and undigested ethno-psychology.

“Little Kings” of the title are three Italian brothers: Dominic, who’s in love with his brother Gino’s very pregnant wife; Gino, who’s having an affair with another woman; and youngest brother Johnny, who’s boinking his pretty first cousin. Just about every scene is rife with priests and/or looming Catholic symbols, and everyone is choking on free-form guilt. This “McMillan Brothers” wannabe, distinguished by bad acting and undigested ethno-psychology, asks “why are Italian men so passionate and so screwed up?” Inept DV-shot comedy doesn’t stand a chance, especially with “The Sopranos” setting the bar so high for Italianate flourishes.

First-time helmer Marylou Tibaldo-Bongiorno strives to fabricate an intense, crazy pile-up of escalating mayhem. Dominic, a biology teacher at a Catholic high school, not only must contend with his feelings for his sister-in-law, but also has to fend off the advances of an underage student. Gino, juggling the demands of mistress and wife, stubbornly refuses to unionize, imperiling his construction company. Lastly, Johnny dodges his irate uncle, out to avenge his little girl’s semi-adulterous seduction. Frenetic twists, however, cannot disguise pic’s basic lack of character, tone or warmth.

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Little Kings

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