Toni Collette’s Mafia Mamma is a gory, comedic farce

A movie that’s marketed as a lighthearted comedic caper turns out to be surprisingly gory and viscerally violent.

Toni Collette in Mafia Mamma, in cinemas now. Picture: Paramount

It’s surprising just how gory Toni Collette’s new comedy is.

For the most part, Mafia Mamma is a chaotic farcical romp, carried by the charms, timing and gusto of Collette’s comedic chops. She is fully committed to the role – and seemingly having an absolute ball.

Her command of physical comedy never shocks but always delights, and if there’s something redeeming about the otherwise bizarre and uneven Mafia Mamma, it’s that Collette is a true and extremely watchable talent. She’s the flame and we’re all just moths magnetised to her power.

Her enthusiasm is infectious, even when the movie flails as many limbs do in this almost slapstick film. You find yourself chuckling along, despite all the reasons not to.

But, oh man, it is oftentimes excruciatingly gruesome. Sure, you expect a mafia movie to be violent. You expect it to have blood splattering as bullets fly from machine guns.

Toni Collette is a comedy queen. Picture: Paramount

What you don’t see coming, in a movie marketed as a lighthearted comedy about a fed-up woman rediscovering her power, is a stiletto heel to the eye socket. But there it is, viciously thrust in and out, not once, not twice, but several times. Complete with squelchy sound effects.

There’s the lone eyeball rolling about, there’s the stiletto heel to the scrotum, the severed hand and a Chekhov’s grape crusher.

Of course, a mob comedy should be heightened. You are dealing with larger-than-life characters with a penchant for dramatics, blood feuds and light triggers.

As shocking as those choices are, it does also speak to Mafia Mamma’s tonal inconsistencies. Sometimes it’s super outlandish, other times it’s merely cheeky. Director Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Twilight) doesn’t quite manage to keep it on track.

At least Collette’s performance is always pitched exactly where it should be.

She plays Kristin, a middle-aged woman going through a rough patch. She’s emotional about her son leaving for university and dealing with misogynistic bosses at her pharmaceutical job. In the middle of all this, she comes home and finds her man-child husband mid-coitus with her kid’s former guidance counsellor.

Monica Bellucci is mostly wasted in Mafia Mamma. Picture: Paramount

So, when a mysterious woman named Bianca (Monica Bellucci) calls to tell Kristin her grandfather has died and asks her to come to Italy for the funeral, she gives in to her Eat Pray Love and Stanley Tucci fantasies and packs her bags.

At the funeral, Kristin is bewildered when a hail of bullets starts raining down on the proceedings, and she discovers that the granddad she never knew was the head of a Calabrian mafia family. As the only living direct descendant, she’s now in charge.

Despite being wildly out of her depth, Kristin proves capable of the task, a combination of dumb luck and fed-up grit.

The character is rooted in this idea of empowering a middle-aged suburban mum who’s invisible to everyone around, and proving the world wrong. Admirable sentiment, for sure, but there’s no real depth to any of the characters, not even Kristin. And Bellucci is mostly wasted in a caricature.

But Collette’s performance is very enjoyable, and Mafia Mamma isn’t aiming for highbrow.

Rating: 2.5/5

Mafia Mamma is in cinemas now