Made in Italy Parent Guide

Jack (Micheál Richardson) has been happily married for years, managing the art gallery his wife’s family owns. Times are changing: the in-laws are planning to sell the gallery, and will not be his in-laws for long, as his wife Ruth (Yolanda Kettle) has filed for divorce. Determined to stay involved in the art world, Jack turns to his estranged father Robert (Liam Neeson), himself a painter of some renown. But it isn’t art Jack wants. He and his father each own half of his late mother’s (Helena Anonio) family home in Tuscany, and Jack plans to sell the house to buy the gallery from Ruth’s family. Although getting his father to Italy seems difficult, Jack doesn’t realize exactly how much work is going to have to go into the house to make it marketable. With the house in terrible disrepair, the relationship with his father in similar condition, and a number of weasels living in the cabinetry, Jack soon finds that this quick sell is going to take a lot of blood, sweat, and tears – and he only has one month to come up with the capital he needs…

Made in Italy is marketed as a comedy, which is fair – there are a few light-hearted laughs along the way (thanks in no small part to the aforementioned weasels), but I think it’s better described as a family drama. The comedic elements are necessary, but the main focus of the story is the relationship between Jack and Robert, and their attempts to work together following decades of estrangement after Jack’s mother’s death. It’s a surprisingly sincere film, with Neeson and Richardson both putting in some deeply emotional performances to bring their familial tragedy to life. It’s a moving film, but probably not a great choice if you’re looking for a fun pick-me-up popcorn flick.

However you choose to describe the genre, the movie is surprisingly clean. In fact, were it not for the language, it would have come in at a PG-13 rather than an R-rating. The profanity is the only real issue, and nearly a dozen “f-bombs” mean that this isn’t the kind of film you’re going to sit down and watch with grandma. Or, at least not my grandma. Your grandparents may be more ok with cussing than mine.

Italy seems to be getting a lot of screen time lately – not undeservedly, as the natural beauty on display is stunning. Even the dilapidated family home has a lonely, shabby chic sort of charm. But beyond the scenery and jokes, what you’ve got here is a family tragedy with enduring consequences and a serious failure to communicate between father and son. Watching that get fixed up along with the house makes watching Made in Italy feel worthwhile