A film so wholesome that it ought to come packaged with nutritional information, the family-oriented Uncle Nino plunges viewers into the brutal world of Glenview, Illinois, where teens throw toilet paper on their neighbors' lawns when not playing loud music or, gasp, smoking cigarettes. But it's not just the kids who aren't all right: As Joe Mantegna attempts to climb the corporate ladder, he ignores both the bad behavior of his son (Trevor Morgan) and the desperate pleas for a puppy he hears from his daughter (Gina Mantegna). Meanwhile, his wife (Anne Archer) looks on in frustration. Can this family be saved? Short answer: yes. Long answer: Only with the help of Pierrino Mascarino, an uncle from the old country who makes an unexpected stop in order to visit his brother's grave.
Unable to understand why the local supermarket doesn't like him sampling the produce, or why Mantegna doesn't want him interrupting business meetings to distribute salami sandwiches, Mascarino doesn't quite fit into the fast-paced lifestyle of the Chicago suburbs. But his innate goodness—symbolized by his never-explained affection for Illinois statesman "Aw-bra-hem Link-un"—helps him get over his culture shock. Soon, Mascarino is jamming with Morgan's garage band and urging his friends to quit smoking, while subtly alerting Mantegna that his priorities have gotten out of joint.
Written and directed by Robert Shallcross, and seemingly misdirected into theaters from its natural home on the ABC Family Channel, Uncle Nino is a sweet but not particularly distinguished effort. Mantegna's family could have been lifted from virtually any dad-works-too-hard cautionary tale made since the late '80s. Mascarino might just as easily have come from Super Mario World as any known part of Italy. His broadly performed character is the best kind of wacky Old Worlder: All his mishaps turn comical, he possesses enough English to offer words of wisdom, but he isn't so set in his ways as to spit on the sidewalk or talk up Silvio Berlusconi at the dinner table. And once he's solved everyone's problems, he politely goes home. Good thing for his visa that he doesn't run into any family troubles requiring more than a quirky quick-fix solution. He's a lot like the movie that way.