Already on the way to transitioning into a full-length feature, writer/director Matt Florio's Mama Needs a Ride is a 20-minute short film about two mobsters (Steve DiGennaro and Matthew F. O'Connor) who are given the ultimate task by the Don (Mike Marino) - pick up his mother (Jane Brown) and take her on her daily errands.

Sounds easy? You know better.

A filmmaker who has short several short films already, Florio likely has the right idea by aiming a bit higher with Mama Needs a Ride, a film with a solid enough set-up but one that feels muted and a tad abrupt in its current 20-minute length. The problem isn't the film's key players, all of whom are up to the task of creating a light-hearted and entertaining mob-centered comedy, but this is simply the kind of story that plays better if you have more time to spend with the characters.

Jane Brown gives off an Anne Ramsey-vibe (That's a compliment!) that makes you simultaneously love and loathe her, and it's easy to picture her having a field day with a feature-length version of this irritating yet compelling character. As the two mobsters tasked with escorting her, Steve DiGennaro and Matthew F. O'Connor have a comfortable chemistry together that should only improve with expanded time for hijinks.

© Written by Richard Propes 
The Independent Critic