This is,a solid and well-done movie. ALL the characters were well-played and the story had good humor and realistic family situations. Enjoyable family viewing.

Forget the critics. Sure, the movie is totally formulaic and predictable, but the main character (Uncle Nino) is so utterly charming and believable that he makes up for it. If you want a feel-good movie about the important things in life (like family) then I highly recommend this movie.

Goes to show, that not everyone agrees on movies. We Loved the movie so much we bought it, which is our families Oscar award for a movie. By the way, don't think we own any actual Oscar movies, except I think Ben Hur. But don't just listen to me or the other critics that hated this movie, watch it for yourself.

A very uplifting movie that reminds you how to live life. Great to watch with pre teens & children. Highly recommend!

I think many families have that one member that, despite the fact that some of the members might not exactly get along, is beloved by everyone. No one can find a bad word to say about them. They're always there with sage advice, fix problems when you need them to and, overall, just do their best to help out. Note that I said many, not all, because there's are also many families that don't have that one member that's sort of a wise figure. My great-grandmother, at least before I was born, was that person in my family. I was close with her, but the family (which was fucking large) wasn't as close after I was born as opposed to when my mother and aunt where younger. Not to say that my great-grandmother was a saint, because she wasn't, but she was that figure. This film attempts to do some of that here, with the minor exception that they treat the titular Uncle Nino like a fucking saint. Granted, he has his dark past, which is only alluded to in one scene and never brought up again, he was arrested for doing something after falling in with the wrong crowd. If they said what he did, I honestly forgot. The point is that they acknowledge he's not a 'saint' in one scene and then they completely forget about it. Look, I'll be honest, this movie certainly means well. Its intentions are noble. I just found the way they went about telling their story to be completely counterproductive. Not to mention predictable as all fuck. It was predictable in 2003, when this was released (though it looks several years older than that due to its cinematography). So you can imagine how predictable and outdated it is FOURTEEN years after the fact. You've seen this movie before. An overworked and stressed husband, neglected wife, rebellious teen and young daughter all brought back together as a family by the grace, I'm going that far, of one special person who finds their way into their lives just at the moment they needed him most. Talk about saccharine, holy fuck. There's no actual, legitimate person like Uncle Nino in real life. I mean, there's certainly very nice people. People who try their damnedest to make a positive influence in the lives of their family and everyone they know. But the film makes Nino look like an adorable muppet. There's no depth to the character whatsoever. He's just there, like a fucking fairy godmother, fixing everyone's shit and bringing the family closer together. I'm not saying that the movie needed to be a realistic portrayal of an actual dysfunctional family, which this family is not, but I just wish the characters would have been a little more interesting than just the basic, one-dimensional characterization they're given for Nino to work his magic on. Robert and his son don't get along due to he hangs out with. Robert and his wife has problems due to Robert's dedication to his work. Robert ignores his daughter's plea for a dog. Robert hasn't talked to his sister in over a decade, or something like that. All of this is in place not because it actually tells an interesting story. It's there for Nino to fix with his old-world personality. Even with all of that, this movie could have, and really should have, been much worse than it was. The acting was perfectly solid. Joe Mantegna is a good actor and I do believe he deserves better than this, but he's just fine here. One thing though and, honestly, Mr. Mantegna feels completely out of place in this type of movie. I guess Armand Assante was busy or something. I don't know, they did need an Italian actor and Joe Mantegna is, reasonably, famous. He's no Pacino or anything, but he's a known actor. Still, his presence feels completely out of place here. Again, he's still fairly solid in his role, but I just don't picture him appearing in this type of sentimental family movie. But, he did appear in it and here we are. Everyone else is pretty good given the limitations of the characters. But the story really does drag everything down. It's just difficult to get into the characters when you've seen this type of story, done better, so many times. The comedy relies mostly on the culture clash Nino faces, having come all the way to America, from Italy, for the first time. This is a very sitcom-y or Hallmark Channel type movie. I don't think it's as bad as what you would see on Hallmark Channel, but you get what I mean. The acting may be solid, but the story is trite and predictable. Only watch this if you want a cheesy family the entire family can watch. They might not enjoy it, but it's nothing if not family-friendly.

Some movies slip through the cracks for a reason. An atrocious slap dash of family drama and fish-out-of-water comedy, it’s broadly “humorous” then intensely melodramatic with little to no concern for transitioning smoothly between the two.

The movie is simple. But look at a different perspective, it shows a lot of reality happening in this USA. When I came to this country, I noticed that hectic life, lack of family relationships, even having dinner as a family was like archaic. The critics may not have like it, does the movie reflect their own life and they don't want to admit it?

Not horrible, but holy Christ it's corny!

A very entertaining film ..... worth the watch!!

Concept was wonderful, but the script was completely lame, Was it written by a child? Uncle Nino character actor great. Anne Archer was bad and the kids were lousy all the way around. But it is a nice family movie for young children

A family movie that reminds us whats really important in life

A surprising gem, slow start, but an over all well done character comedy/drama. Yes this type of movie has been done before and is predictable. However the pure charm of the elder Italian Uncle is what makes the film. One of the few family movies that I will have no trouble watching on my own.

Okay, maybe this movie is not up-to-date or "entertaining" like other fast movies. But, it was very cute and very good. It was definatly a low-budget movie but they had a wonderful script. A tear jerker :) Uncle Nino is about a small-town old man from Italy that barely knows any English. He's carrying around this guilt inside because he didn't go to his brother's marriage or funeral because he was in jail for stealing something. So, he goes to visit his brother's son and his family to hopefully make him feel better. They're the normal American family, disfunctional and everyone is leading their own lives, without even sitting down to eat dinner together. As the story goes on, Uncle Nino brings everyone together with his love for dogs and music, doing gardening, and understanding nature. At the end, Uncle Nino teaches them what the true secret of life is - relationships.

sappy, but kind of cute.

A marvelous and memorable film about discovering what's really important in the daily lives of an American middle class family torn apart by schedules and worries. Dysfunctional family at first, Uncle Nino (Joseph Mantegna) comes to his American family from Italy to at first just visit but unintentionally straightens things out not by lecturing, but by example and old world habits. Totally disregarded by the professional critics as corny, predictable. While it may be all of that, it doesn't make much of a difference to those not caring for professional tastes. Joe Mantegna does a magnificient portrayal of the Italian long lost uncle who came to dinner, so to speak. Worth watching once or even more, Uncle Nino is a force to be reckoned with in todays rat race society. **** Starring: Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, Pierrino Mascarino, Trevor Morgan, Gina Mantegna, Duke Doyle, Daniel Adebayo, Chelcie Ross, Gary Houston, Mindy Bell, Ned Schmidtke, Shanesia Davis-Williams Director: Robert Shallcross

Awe...what a nice, charming, cute, entertaining family movie! I really enjoyed the music at the end with Uncle Nino playing with the boys. Good job!

It was corny and predictable, but who cares. THis film was entertaining and enchatning. It has a great heart and I really enjoyed it.

a little rough on the acting, but great story and good ending

i dont think i saw the ending though

Great family movie, rough start, but elder italian uncle saves . . . well . . . you can guess the rest . . . some kleenex scenes (the good kind)