My friend and I were talking and randomly fell upon the topic of Italians in tv and movies. All we could think of were mobster movies and moonstruck. I know there are Italian American actors and actresses, and I’m sure there are character from that background, but we couldn’t think of any. Not even someone who played Italian and put on an accent. Can anyone think of shows or movies with a central Italian character(s)? Or any characters at all?
sharePretty much all Monica Bellucci movies. And Sylvester Stallone's, DiCaprio's and bazillion random Nick Cage movies. And old DeNiro stupid "comedy" movies.
shareItalian TV and movies has Italian characters in a much more diverse range of genres and personalities.
As for American TV and movies, which I assume is the focus of your question, I can't think of many that emphasize characters' Italian-ness apart from the mobster-type movies you mentioned. There is the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, which is about a family whose Italian background is emphasized now and again (though none of the actors other than Ray Romano actually are of that background). But I'm sure there are lots of other movies and TV shows with characters that happen to be Italian-American (i.e. they have Italian names and the like) but whose Italian-ness isn't really emphasized. I think this is because Americans of Italian background are very significantly assimilated at this point. Actionkamen listed some such examples above.
Compare that to Arabs and Muslims, who simply cannot get cast in any role not related somehow to terrorism (even if they get "good guy" anti-terrorist roles, they're still defined entirely by this trope). In this respect, Italians have it way better, even with the mobster movies. I long for the day I turn on an American movie/TV show and get to see an Arab or Muslim character who's just part of the community and is treated as such without the topic of terrorism coming up.
(Sorry, I didn't mean to derail; this just got me thinking, and I tend to ramble and think aloud)
"Return to Me," and "Under the Tuscan Sun" had Italians in them, though some lacked accents or were too stereotypical. Zeferelli's "Romeo and Juliet" also has Italians as the main characters.
shareThe first one that comes to mind is a Canadian romantic comedy starring Luke Kirby called Mambo Italiano.
Not a great portrayal, or movie for that matter, but Super Mario Bros. starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo is a fantasy movie about two Italian-American plumbers.
Oddly enough, neither of these movies star actors who are of Italian descent. In Mambo Italiano some of the supporting cast are, though.
There's also a new romantic comedy about two rival pizza parlors called Little Italy. I haven't seen it, but it doesn't look great.
While not about the mafia, all of these films feature a lot of Italian stereotypes nonetheless, unfortunately.
Rocky
shareGreen Book
shareMonk was Italian i believe.
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