“Mid-August Lunch” Movie Trailer Review

By our guest blogger, Michaela Zanello

From the creators of “Gomorrah,” “Mid-August Lunch” is the happy-go-lucky tale of Italian mamas, gastronomy and improbable friendships. The film, which stars writer/director Gianni Di Gregorio, offers a delectable slice of suburban Roman life that is tastier than a slice of a bona-fide Italian pizza pie.

Using a semi-improvised approach, “Mid-August Lunch” examines trans-generational issues with both benevolence and a hearty helping of playfulness. Gianni (Di Gregorio) is a broke, middle-aged bachelor living with his elderly mother, who is not at all shy to make her opinions known. For Gianni, caring for his mother is a full-time job, leaving him with little time for any actual money-making. As a result, one situation leads to another and Gianni suddenly finds himself as the caretaker not only for his own opinionated mother but for three more feisty nonagenarians as well. The beguiling issues that arise in this charismatic, kitchen-sink comedy involve many fraying tempers that result from living in a henhouse full of stubborn and demanding mamas who refuse to live according to the Feng Shui rules that Gianni has laid out for them.

The trailer for “Mid-August Lunch” relies heavily on the use of character dialogue to get the story rolling. As Gianni’s harridan syndicate increases from one to four, the trailer shows clips of him and his multiplying mamas, and attempts to incorporate droll instances where he is at the mercy of their caprices. The instances evinced in the trailer are indeed amusing but their arrangement isn’t very effective at instilling a desire in the viewer to go and see this film. Moreover, as a film that is primarily concerned with its characters and their relationships with each other, the trailer for “Mid-August Lunch” does little in the way of fostering any real character understanding.

“Mid-August Lunch” appears to be the kind of film that is rich in natural comedy and beautifully drawn characters who would jump off the screen if given the chance. Unfortunately, though, the trailer is only half-hearted in its efforts to convey the warm spiritedness of its characters.

View the trailer for "Mid-August Lunch" below. What are your thoughts?