The Tampa Tribune

02-28-2003

The Tampa Tribune
SECTION: FRIDAY EXTRA!
PAGE: 10
Published Friday, February 28, 2003
Home-Baked "Bread' Rises To The Occasion
BYLINE: BOB ROSS rross@tampatrib.com
MEMO: MOVIE REVIEW FILM

Sugary as chocolate biscotti, sentimental as an aging grandma,
"The Bread, My Sweet" isn't for everyone.

But for those who savor the ethnic spice of family comedies
such as "Moonstruck" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," this bakery-based
confection has the exact right recipe.

Pittsburgh playwright Melissa Martin sets her debut feature
in her hometown's Strip District, where authentic delicacies
are made and sold the old-fashioned way.

Indeed, the film's key set is a real bakery named Enrico Biscotti,
which is run by Martin's husband. Filmed in the summer of 2000,
the movie opened in January '02 and is still playing in the
Pittsburgh area.

But you need not be Pennsylvanian or Italian-American to fall
for its simple charms and talented cast.

Scott Baio, shedding his Chachi and Charles boyishness at
age 41, sustains the story's center as the conflicted, well-intentioned
Dominic.

At first, this handsome fellow is truly torn between two worlds.
His college degree and business acumen make him a successful
corporate hatchet man: He specializes in firing folks at newly
acquired companies.

But when the Porsche is parked and the tailored clothes swapped
for an old apron, Dominic finds greater joy behind the counter
at Enrico's, where his co-workers are his carefree brother Eddie
(Billy Mott) and his burly, slightly retarded brother Pino (Shuler
Hensley).

"All I wanna do is bake," Dominic says plaintively, and we
know he'll quit the big-money job before the film's finish.
His boardroom scenes, though, are barbed beauties: He is appalled
by his colleagues' cruel calculations and junk-food addictions.


As we soon discover, Dominic's destiny will come from above:
The elderly couple in an apartment upstairs treats him as an
adopted son, and he adores them in return despite the profane
insults he trades with cranky Massimo (John Seitz).

Massimo's wife, Bella (Rosemary Prinz, perfect as a stubborn,
superstitious, old darling), propels the story when a long-delayed
doctor visit turns up an unhappy diagnosis.

Bella's only regret is that her daughter Lucca (Kristin Minter)
is far away in the Peace Corps.

Dominic devises a solution that stretches credibility but
guarantees you won't leave with dry eyes.

(C) MOVIE REVIEW
The Bread, My Sweet: B

MOVIE BOARD RATING: (Not rated; has mild profanity and a discreet love scene)

STARS: Scott Baio, Kristin Minter, Rosemary Prinz, John Seitz

DIRECTOR: Melissa Martin

LOCATION: For locations, see Quick Flicks, Page 12; see Page 14 for movie times.

PLOT SUMMARY: Baker chooses family over corporate career.

RUNNING TIME: 107 minutes


ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO (C) CHART (C)
CAPTIONS: Panorama Entertainment (C) Scott Baio and Kristin
Minter star in "The Bread, My Sweet," Pittsburgh playwright Melissa
Martin's debut feature.

KEYWORDS: MOVIE REVIEW BREAD MY SWEET

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