Nunzio

When I was a youngster my best friend/next door neighbour's father who flew Canadian Forces cargo jets would take us along on 48 hr trips (often down to the States). This was I'm sure was highly against regulations and could have gotten him, who knows, maybe even thrown in jail, but he was half-pissed all the time so he had a few issues going on.

But to the point, I got to see a lot of films at an earlier age than I should have because once we got to the destination base he needed to go to the bar so my friend and I got dropped off to the base movie theaters that seemed no matter the base to run a 5 movie loop round-the-clock, and the movies were all classic grindhouse fare, Melvin Van Peebles and all the blaxploitation to follow after, Italian horror, Australian genre flicks, etc.

Being a big film buff probably because I got exposed to so much independent film as well so relatively young, I have one heck of a back catalogue to pick from, but "Nunzio" really stands out. I read in one of the reviews that it had some schlock in it, but from what I remember from that day when I lucked into seeing this fantastic film in a corrugated metal shed theatre in the NWT in Canada.

Something about the way the characters are written and in the dialogue, and of course the acting as well, but that dialogue, it really was incredibly engaging and sucked me into being so emotionally invested in the characters' lives, and even through some for-one-reason-or-another quite uncomfortable scenes to watch that out of all the similar-type movies I watched at those military bases only "Nunzio" stands out.

And it stands out even though beyond the general plotline I can't recall much detail other than 2 scenes, but how strongly I felt the emotions the screenwriter and director wanted me to feel, wow, I felt like a puppet on a string and this tugged at my heartstrings so very hard that just the thought of the movie finds those heartstrings reverberating over the years even still. I would be so happy to find a way to watch this in any format, I think I'd even buy an ancient VCR to be able to watch it, I loved it that much.

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".

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...

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.

As other reviewers have noted, this is a formula picture that has been done before. That's not a mark against this little gem of a picture, just that it doesn't break any new ground.

David Proval, who would later go on to play Richie Aprile, the psycho mobster with the "Charles Manson" stare in HBO's The Sopranos, turns in a remarkable performance here as the mentally handicapped Nunzio.

A chubby, frizzy-haired bicycle delivery boy for a neighborhood grocer, Nunzio indulges in fantasies that he is a superhero. He lives a life marked with torments from the gang of deadbeats at the corner, overbearing concern from his mother and older brother, and general confusion about women and his burgeoning desires for them.

Although this film sets up several plot devices that could easily have gone "over the top", director Williams handles the story with a deft touch, never allowing the film to enter the realm of melodrama until the final climactic scene, which serves more as a release than a dive into the overly dramatic.

With a fluid story that moves at a good pace, terrific acting, and tons of spine shuddering 70s kitch (was that decade REALLY that awful for fashion?), this is a film not to be missed, if you can ever find it, that is.