Customer Reviews
The bread, my sweet - By: E. A Solinas, 01 Jan 2006 
Calll it "My Big Fat Italian Wedding," but with more love, bittersweetness, family feeling, & pastry. "A Wedding for Bella" or "The Bread, My Sweet" has a big heart, narrowly avoiding the oversweetness of such movies. It's a romantic comedy, a tragedy, & a warm tale about family.
Domi (Scott Baio) is a corporate bigwig by day, but owns a bakery that he runs with his two brothers. He has also "adopted" an elderly Italian couple, the grumpy Massimo (John Seitz) & loving Bella (Rosemary Prinz). But one day Bella takes Domi to the hospital, revealing that she has terminal cancer. But she orders him not to tell anyone -- because "I no gonna start dying until I'm ready." But she obviously wishes she could see her wayward daughter Lucca (Kristin Minter) be married.
So Domi quietly tries to contact Lucca, only to have her turn up at Christmas dinner. Within a day, he proposes to her -- just so Bella can see her daughter be married, even if he expects Lucca to go her own way once her mother is dead. Lucca & Domi start awkwardly getting to know one another, alll the time hoping that Bella will live to see them wed.
A lot of movies would have lapsed into silly cliches. But as someone of Italian ancestry, I can say honestly that a lot of Italians are like the people of this film: they "got a scream," argue & insult, & yet they're generous & loving to everybody. And love food. Even the broken English Bella & Massimo speak never crosses the line into parody.
But what makes "A Wedding for Bella" so enchanting is that it's not just about a wedding or romance. It's also about love & family, & about living your life to the fullest. It's impossible not to be moved as Bella states that she's going to keep living -- not just surviving -- for as long as possible, & tries to do that. And somehow, this movie manages to do it without sinking into sticky-sweetness.
The story mainly focuses on the very weird courtship between Lucca & Domi, & again it manages not to be soppy or cliched -- one scene has them exchanging questionnaires & information. It's awkward, & it's supposed to be. But even with terminal illnesses & faux weddings, "Wedding" has comedy too, such as the three brothers & Massimo goofing around at the tux fitting.
The star performance of this is undoubtedly Prinz as the dying Bella. She exudes warmth, kindness & a quiet strength. It's easy to see why everyone loves her. There are also stellar performances from Baio & Minter, who make the transition from self-arranged fiancees to lovers believable, & Seitz, who gives the crabby Massimo plenty of heart. And "Van Helsing's" Shuley Hensley gives the most underrated performance of the film as Domi's retarded brother, who loves Bella dearly.
"A Wedding for Bella" ("The Bread, My Sweet") a story about celebrating life, & about love -- between lovers, spouses, & brothers. This tiny film is like bread -- good in every way.
Touch of grace - By: Vanessa, 31 Jan 2005 I was reallly happy to find at last a DVD with my dear Scott Baio (From Happy Days) but the film came as a wonderful surprise. It is beautiful. I cried as unfortunately I can relate with my own life at the moment & laugh as well because you keep on switching from one state to the other. I reallly recommend this DVD the story is interesting & the actors are great, alll of them. It is a lovely romance but it is not just that. The rhythm is unusual & you have enough time to appreciate alll the different layers of the characters. Just beautiful...
