Lookin' Italian


Lookin' Italian is a 1994 American crime film directed by Guy Magar and starring Jay Acovone and Matt LeBlanc.

Plot

Vinny Pallazzo is a retired gangster who has left the mafia after a disastrous incident. Now working as a clerk in a dusty bookshop of Los Angeles, he has to look after his young, reckless nephew Anthony, who lives fast, spending his time between seducing girls at the bookshop, dancing in nightclubs and playing poker games with friends.
Vinny tries to do everything so that Anthony doesn't cross paths with mafia and gang wars, as he is afraid that his brash and hot-blooded nephew might end up like his father - dead. But that may be a lot more difficult than it sounds, especially after Anthony's girlfriend is brutally killed with another friend of his, by a gang. Anthony then wants to be avenged, especially after learning the truth about his father.

Cast

Argentina Brunetti plays a grandmother. Denise Richards portrays Elizabeth.

Production

A low-budget independent movie, Lookin' Italian is meant to be, in director Guy Magar words, "an hommage to Scorsese and to Italian-American culture... To me, the words "Lookin' Italian" mean "lookin' good".
Magar also mentioned in his autobiography about the good friendship between Acovone and LeBlanc, as Acovone took LeBlanc under his wing and helped him with his acting.

Critical reception

The critical response was mixed. Variety said:
On the other hand, other newspapers gave some good reviews, especially for a low-budget and low-promoted film. The Press Enterprise remarked, for example, that Lookin' Italian was "A powerful, smart and sassy independently-made film that comes together so well – blending comedy and drama, issues and entertainment – is a tribute to Guy Magar who made it for the low Hollywood cost of under $1-million!".