Queer Classics: “Mambo Italiano”

The early-2000s romantic comedy is a surprisingly nuanced exploration of the immigrant queer experience.

In today’s edition of Queer Classics, we’re going to talk about the 2003 Canadian film, Mambo Italiano, which focuses on a young man, Angelo (Luke Kirby), as he comes to terms with his homosexuality and struggles to reconcile his queer identity, his love for his best friend Nino (Peter Miller), and his family’s innate conservatism. Even though the film is almost 20 years old, it holds up surprisingly well, full of humor, warmth, and a surprisingly nuanced message about queer immigrant experience.

The film begins with Angelo relating his family’s peculiar history and his own vexed identity as the queer son of Italian immigrants. Things get even more complicated when he reunites with his childhood friend Nino and the two begin a closeted romance. Ultimately, Angelo finds that, while he wants to live life openly as a gay man, that’s not what Nino wants. All is not lost, however, for Angelo finds happiness with Peter (Tim Post), a counselor at a gay helpline, while Nino finds himself married to Pina (though he still goes on camping trips with various other hunky men).

Before watching this film for the podcast, I’d actually seen it before, way back in the early 2000s…