Mafia Mamma is one of those comedies that just has a lot of heart and it makes watching it such a joy. In my own interview with Toni Collette for the movie, we talked about how her character Kristin is a “fish out of water” but she comes into her own throughout the movie. And that is why it is so appealing to watch.
So when I was lucky enough to talk with director Catherine Hardwicke about the movie, we talked about bringing that power to Kristin and focusing this story on a character who has a journey to go on to being true to herself. And Hardwicke kept coming back to the script, written by Michael J. Feldman and Debbie Jhoon and based on the story by Amanda Sthers.
“Well, I just love the script,” Hardwicke said. “It was super fun to imagine somebody that’s very people pleaser and just really nice to everybody, never thinking about herself. Then her best friend tells her, dude, you should go over there and get your beep pounded, you know? And that’s kind of fun. Her lawyer’s very supportive. And then when she gets there, she meets this woman that’s going to totally kind of transform her and help her learn everything. So the sisterhood between the three of them, we love that. And then just, it’s such a funny experience. I mean, she’s in all this crazy toxic masculinity but this elegant woman guides her through it. So every element was just fun. Not to mention to be in Italy, of course, I thought I died and went to heaven. I’m an architect. My head was blown every day with the beautiful architecture.”
You can see my interview with Hardwicke and Monica Bellucci here:
Mafia Mamma is in theaters now!
(Featured image: Bleecker Street)
