Set in New York in the early 1980s, the film follows Kitty Kane, a seamstress who discovers that her construction worker husband, Nick, has been having an affair. The revelation shakes both her family and their close-knit suburban neighborhood, and the characters consider what love, sex and physical pleasure mean to them, expressing their fears, anxieties and fantasies through elaborate musical numbers. Meanwhile, their daughter Baby pursues a romance of her own.

How it was made

The film was produced by the New York company GreeneStreet Films, with financial backing from United Artists, the Coen brothers and Mel Gibson's company Icon Entertainment International. John Turturro wrote and directed the picture, which brings together an ensemble cast led by James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet. Its numbers are built around popular songs from several decades, many performed by artists outside the cast, and the cinematography was by Tom Stern.

Reception and legacy

It premiered at the 2005 Venice Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion, and soon after played in Toronto. Its American release in 2007 was limited and handled by Turturro himself. Critics were divided: Rotten Tomatoes lists 54 percent of reviews as favorable, and Metacritic gives it 55 out of 100. Roger Ebert awarded it four stars out of four.

Stills

Trailer

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Trivia

A cast of singers

Mandy Moore performs I Want Candy alongside Aida Turturro and Mary-Louise Parker, part of a soundtrack that mixes pop and soul standards.

A screening with Ebert

The film was shown at the 2008 Ebertfest, Roger Ebert's festival in Illinois, which Aida Turturro and Tricia Brouk were scheduled to attend.

More films by John Turturro

Fading Gigolo2013

Rio, I Love You2014

Original Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (es) and Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.