Nunzio

The first time i saw this movie was when pay TV just started. known back then as WHT for 18.00 a month..I was stoned off my face when i saw this with a close friend and let me say i was so into it. the cast was perfect and let me also say i was in love with Jo Jo played by Vincent Russo. what a hot man indeed..a very down to earth real life picture that most anyone can relate to..this movie should be aired today. so underrated.in 1978 i was 20 years old and knew what i was about and into..this movie could turn a total wise mouth bully into an understanding and caring person with a little help .I give this great movie a must see before you get old.

I watched this movie years ago. It made a lasting impression on my mind. It shows how a brothers love can deflect the crap thrown by bullies at his mentally challenged brother. This classic could be remade. I am not sure how you would make it better, but, if it is brought up-to-date and put back into circulation that would be OK. The story line is the key. What a great eclectic group of people. The story does not fall short of showing that the Handicapped mean well and if asked can participate to a high level.

I loved this story and want to order a copy. It is a classic, just most people don't know it. GREAT MOVIE....Talented talented people. Find it, watch it and be humble...

Yes I am a sucker for these Italian NYC dramas. And even more so for 70s kitsch. But, this aside, I still find this to be a great film. People bust on Andronica's acting, which I actually thought was good, at least in the playground scene-and Proval did one helluva job. Much better than Richie Aprile, anyway. A film such as this could never be made today. Too many politics. But I love this film. It's dated, simple, and made during a time when things could be a little more simple and a little less intellectualized.

Nunzio is a little-seen drama which tells a standard underdog story a husky, mentally-challenged deliveryman (David Proval) who dreams of being a superhero. Teased by the local hoods, his older brother Jamesie (James Andronica, who also wrote the screenplay) protects Nunzio to the point of smothering him.

Although the movie is rather sappy, Proval dose a very good job of keeping most of the ham in check (unlike co-star/screenwriter Andronica). In addition, Jazz singer/Corelone matriarch Morgana King was a welcome sight playing the mother of Nunzio and Jamesie.

Note: There was one specific scene that to this day still makes me uncomfortable even though it was important to the plot and put this movie in MPAA rating limbo. The film was originally rated R because of a sex scene between the main character and a neighborhood girl. According to the original NY Times review by Janet Maslin, that scene was edited down so the movie can get a PG rating. When the movie was shown on cable TV, the R-rated version was shown at night and the PG-rated version was shown during the day. I would have to agree with Maslin that if you took the sex scene out, the scenes after the incident made no sense at all.

Universal released Nunzio to theaters in 1978 but has never released the movie to DVD. I wonder why? Ever since his 1973 debut in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, Proval has been a very dependable character actor an has appeared in numerous movie and TV projects including his memorable role as Richie Aprile in The Sopranos. I would think Universal would have considered releasing Nunzio to DVD to take advantage of Proval's Soprano buzz and show how talented the actor was to people who have never seen or heard of Nunzio. Sometimes some marketing strategies makes too much sense.

You might catch this captivating film on the late late LATE show some night, it doesn't pop up too often. The story of a mentally challenged grocery-delivery boy and the neighborhood of craziness that surrounds him, NUNZIO will stay with you long after you've seen it. David Proval gives an amazing performance as the title character. In fact all of the performances are right-on.

Like Cliff Robertson's "Charly" or Jackie Gleason's "Gigot", Nunzio tugs at your emotions and doesn't let go. Proval went on to star in the HBO series "The Sopranos".