Memorable, crazy movie

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Two New Jersey Italian-Americans come out on top of a shoot out with some Ukrainian mafia types. The Ukrainian mobsters are out for revenge. Our two Americans (Danny Nucci and Dan Hedaya) decide to leave the country and hide in Scotland with an honest cousin they have never seen before. Roberto (Gerald Lepkowski) is the boring Scottish cousin who runs a restaurant and ice cream parlor. Alice (Shirley Henderson) also works there, complaining about her dull life and dull Scotsmen. Roberto loves Alice but has been too shy to say anything. Now with his American cousin Gino in town, Roberto finds himself in competition with the new guy who is dashing, out going, and well hung.Meanwhile the Ukrainian mafia has put a contract out on our two American cousins while a group of local thugs shake down Roberto's establishment. The film has an indie quality to it in that it combines action-crime, drama, romance, and comedy into a production and swaps up at will. Shirley Henderson was remarkably good.F-bomb, rear nudity (Danny Nucci), no sex

This film may be great, but it is a complete ripoff of Bill Forsythe's Comfort and Joy. c&j is one of the sweetest films I've ever seen without becoming diabetic.It's OK if you do like it, but realize that EVERYTHING in this film is a direct rip-off.The original is http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0087072 I can recommend almost anything by forsythe - Local Hero, Gregory's Girl, That Sinking Feeling. I better go rent some tonight. Local Has a young Peter Capaldi, and an old Burt Lancaster.Unfortunately he's given up film-making after some really crappy Hollywood treatment. Sad.

'The best British rom-com/culture-clash comedy in years' it says on the DVD cover. As the writer of the above blurb, I'm happy to say I haven't changed my opinion one iota. It's basically Local Hero meets The Sopranos. After a botched European hit, Mafia types Gino (Nucci) and Settimo (Dan Hedaya) take refuge in a Glasgow fish and chip shop run by their sweet-natured, stamp-collecting cousin, the Scottish/Italian Roberto (Gerald Lepkowski). When Gino takes a shine to Roberto's fellow fryer Alice (a lazily vampish Henderson) it spurs his frustrated lovesick cousin into action and sets the scene for some hilarious one-upmanship. This really is a lovely, lovely film, beautifully performed, and by Lepkowski and Henderson in particular, as the lovers-in-waiting. Perfect for cosying up with on the sofa with someone spesh and, perhaps, a couple of kittens gamboling between your toes (gambling, even – I've nothing against cats betting among themselves.)

Occasionally, a movie made overseas for domestic filmgoers is worthy of seeking a wider audience and this gem from Britain, screened at the 2003 American Film Market, is one of them. It has a lot of good stuff going for it.Two American Mafioso types flee to Scotland when a deal in Kiev goes wrong. In Glasgow, they hide out with Bobbie, a cousin, who operates an ice cream parlor and fish-and-chip shop. Complications arise when a couple of inept Liverpool thugs, contracted by the Russian Mob, turn up to hunt down the visitors. As if this wasn't enough, loansharks are after Bobbie to collect on a loan.All in all, a pleasant minor comedy which I liked a lot, mainly for its good intentions and above standard acting. Danny Nucci delivers a sympathetic performance as Bobbie augmented by Scottish-born Shirley Henderson, who plays Alice his wife.. She is an actress who first came to my attention with a brilliant performance as Marie Melmonte in the PBS tv miniseries "The Way We Live Now."