Mafia Mamma(2023)

Plot Summary

• Kristin, a writer and sales expert for a cosmetics company, is in the throes of a midlife crisis: her only son has just left for college, she catches her husband having sex with a younger woman in the basement of their home, and her bosses at the company treat her with contempt. She receives a call from a lawyer named Bianca in Lazio, learning that her only living relative, her grandfather, has died and that she must attend his funeral and be present at the reading of his will.Jenny, Kristin's friend, convinces her that attending the funeral will give her a chance to start over. Upon landing in Rome, Kristin runs into a local, Lorenzo, and his aunt Esmeralda. Kristin is attracted to Lorenzo and gives him her number before being picked up by Bianca's associates, Dante and Aldo. The funeral proceeds smoothly until armed men stage an ambush, and the coffin is destroyed by bullets. Aldo and Dante, following Bianca's instructions, get Kristin to safety.At the reading, Bianca reveals that she is in fact the consigliere of the Balbano family, a powerful branch of the Sicilian Mafia; Kristin learns that her grandfather was the boss of the family, and that despite disapproving of his son having a child with an American woman, he wishes to honor tradition and have Kristin succeed him. A hysterical Kristin demands to leave, but Bianca calms her, and she is persuaded to take on the role.Kristin's first act as boss is to meet with Don Carlo, boss of the rival Romano family, and settle a dispute between the two gangs over the murder of both her grandfather and the previous Romano don. Carlo manages to seduce Kristin and lures her into his hotel room, where he slips a dose of poison into her limoncello. As Kristin prefers the glass with less Limoncelle, she switches the glasses, and Don Carlo drinks his own poison and chokes to death. The Romanos promote Carlo's cousin, "Mammone", to succeed him.Fabrizio, Kristin's caporegime, disagrees with her plans to diversify the Balbano family's criminal operations by setting up "legal" businesses that include reopening her grandfather's famous winery. Lorenzo and Kristin grow closer, but the relationship is frustrated by an inability for either of them to commit to each other. A hitman sent by Don Mammone interrupts Kristin in the middle of a Zoom conference with her bosses; she manages to stab him to death with her heel, only to then learn that the company has decided to fire her.A despondent Kristin goes to Lorenzo's house, and they sleep together. The next day, she meets with Don Mammone, who agrees to forswear any further acts of vengeance against her and restore the peace between their families. Kristin finally accepts her situation and begins to take a more active involvement in the family, while also spending more time with Lorenzo. Their relationship is tested when her husband suddenly turns up in Lazio, claiming to be broke and in need of her help. Kristin refuses to do so and sends him away. She also lies to her son about Lorenzo, claiming he is only a friend, and causing him to question whether she truly loves him.Kristin arranges a meeting with the Romanos to announce that she is retiring from the Mafia and giving her role as boss to Bianca. Don Mammone is enraged, and an armed standoff ensues before police officers led by Lorenzo and Esmeralda (who are secretly undercover detectives) raid the meeting place and take everyone into custody. Kristin hires Jenny to represent her in court, and because many of the locals have benefitted from her family's largess, they testify in her favor. She is cleared of all charges and meets with Lorenzo, who explains that his real name is Rudy. Kristin forgives him for deceiving her but decides to devote herself entirely to the family.Bianca is seemingly murdered, and Kristin finds both her husband and her son held at gunpoint by Fabrizio, who turns out to be a traitor in league with the Romanos. He is about to murder Kristin when Bianca catches him off guard, and Kristin drops him to his death inside a grape crusher. She sends his finger as a warning to Don Mammone. Sometime later, Kristin's son is about to return home. As he departs, he sees his mother formally receiving guests in her capacity as head of the Balbano family. (thanks to Wikipedia)

Storyline

• Kristin, a writer in her middle age, is grappling with the challenges of her son leaving for college, a chauvinistic boss, and her husband's recent infidelity. Amidst this turmoil, Bianca, a trusted advisor to Kristin's estranged grandfather, informs her of his passing and insists she attend his funeral in Italy. Though hesitant at first, Kristin's friend Jenny, a vocal attorney, convinces her that this journey could be the key to her recovery. However, things take a dangerous turn when the funeral transforms into a bloody shootout, and Kristin discovers that her grandfather intended for her, the only living heir, to take on the mantle of leader for Calabria's most formidable Mafia family. — Official Synopsis Lost, betrayed, and alone, American pharmaceutical marketing executive Kristin goes through a rough patch in her life. But everything is about to change when Calabrian lawyer Bianca calls Kristin to inform her that her long-estranged grandfather mentioned her in his will. And just like that, Kristin reluctantly flies to Italy to attend the funeral and settle his affairs. However, there is more to her mysterious relative than meets the eye. As a result, instead of a free trip to Europe for fine food and romance, family consigliere Bianca takes the wide-eyed guest under her wing to show her the ropes. After all, the raven-haired adviser faces a challenging task: help Kristin survive a bloody turf war and take over the family business as the Italian clan's first-ever Mafia Mamma. — Nick Riganas