Mafia Mamma (2023) Laughs, Mayhem, and Revelations

You expect me to be in charge of the mafia?

Mafia Mamma is a 2023 film. A woman discovers that her estranged grandfather was the powerful leader of an Italian mafia empire. Suddenly propelled into the role of head of the family business, Kristin hilariously defies everyone’s expectations as she maneuvers the crime world.

As a gigantic Toni Collette fan, I immediately added this movie to my watch list. While Collette delivers a hysterically entertaining performance, the movie itself is overly chaotic and struggles to stay focused on the main plot. I enjoyed it, but Mafia Mamma gets lost in all its comical extravaganzas.

There’s no way Mafia Mamma would have worked without the tremendous Toni Collette! She’s the only part of this film that worked. Collette is an amazing actress. She can do comedy and she’s one heck of a dramatic actress. I could write a whole essay about her phenomenal abilities.

Collette’s character, Kristin, scrambles all over the place, questioning everyone’s situation. She is also the clutsiest person ever. That’s her whole character. I’m not complaining since Collette makes the film an entertaining comedy.

The film has a fine supporting cast. More credits include Monica Belluci, Eduardo Scarpetta, Alfonso Perugini, Guiseppe Zeno, Tommy Rodger, and Tim Dash. Collette and Bellucu were excellent in their interactions, including the signature grape stomping scene.

Mafia Mamma is a comedy. It’s the type of comedy that I like. The comedy is constant, including jokes and Collette’s hysterical reactions to everything. Kristin is not the right person to run a mafia, making it funnier.

The funniest scene in the movie is Kristin fighting with a villain while on a Zoom call. Her misogynistic boss and co-workers have put her on mute and ignore the calamity happening. Followed by Collette’s hysterical explosion on them is the cherry on top. Background humor is my favorite comedy and more films need to make use of it.

Catherine Hardwicke was excited to sign on as the film’s director. I fell in love with Hardwicke’s previous film, Miss You Already, and was curious to see how she’d execute this film. There are places where the story issued better focus, but she implemented her own style. Look closely, and she pays homage to The Godfather (Hardwicke’s favorite movie).

Upon reading behind-the-scenes stories, everyone had a great time shooting this film. Mafia Mamma was filmed in Rome. The crew was standing on stones that were over 2,000 years old! Hardwicke studied all locations and took advantage of shooting on the Ponte Sant-Angelo bridge with the castle backdrop.

The film has excellent visuals, however, it was over-edited. Scenes jumped back repeatedly, hardly giving audiences a break from the action.

Due to the overuse of comedy, it overshadows the story. Writers should have implemented more storylines. When a film relies on comedy, it gets old. One aspect that bothered me was how little Kristin’s family appears in the story. Her son should have been involved the whole time. She is a mafia MOMMA, after all!

I was not expecting the graphic violence. It was overly bloody in parts. Kristin kills a man with her stiletto heel. This scene became pretty gory, and I found myself protecting my own eyes. The overuse of blood and guts didn’t work for me, feeling more like a horror film.

Mafia Mamma is meant as a comedy, so don’t take it seriously. Enjoy the film for what it is. The film is worth a watch. If only I had recorded myself laughing. Check out this comedy on Paramount+.