A rollicking comedy that takes place in a colourful version of Montreal’s Petite Italie, Mambo Italiano is the tale of Angelo Barbarini (Kirby), the son of Italian-Canadian immigrants who has been teased all his life for being “different.” At nearly 30 years of age, Angelo shocks his parents — and the entire community — by brazenly defying tradition: He moves out to live his own life despite his not being married. Free at last, he falls in love with his long-lost childhood chum, Nino, and the two move in together. They try to keep their sexuality a secret, while their families worry, suspect and scheme to set them up with nice Italian girls. There is no fate worse than being gay and Italian, the movie reminds us, and when the pressures of his double life begin to overwhelm Angelo, his reactions set off an explosively funny chain of surprise revelations, comic reversals and unexpected outcomes.