Nunzio

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".

Nunzio is a rarely aired film concerning a twenty something mentaly challenged man. On the surface he appears to be a loon wearing a towel as a cape playing hero. Fortunately for the viewer he turns out to be much more. David Proval in an understated performance shows us the life and first time love in a wonderful fashion. In the end we see a wannabe hero that truly can be. A small film not to be missed.

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 remember seeing Nunzio on WHT (Wometco Home Theater) which was a pay TV service that pre-dated cable. The film left such an impression on me that I haven't forgotten it to this day.

I won't go into the plot as it's been covered here but David Proval's performance as a mentally challenged delivery boy is heartbreaking and pitch perfect.

His brother, played by the excellent James Andronica (who also wrote the script), loves Nunzio and protects him, as any big brother should.

While the script may be formulaic, it works.

David Proval and James Andronica are clearly committed here and the way they captured the lives of these characters was terrific. It feels very genuine and authentic as NYC is practically a character in and of itself.

If you can see this film (there are a few websites streaming an old WHT version, but the quality is poor), check it out, you won't regret it.

The fact that this movie hasn't been released on DVD/Blu-ray is very sad.

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.