Product Description

By day dominic is a corporate raider and by night an italian pastry chef. Upon learning that his upstairs neighbor and surrogate mother bella has fallen seriously ill hes determined to see bellas longtime dream come true. When dominic schemes to marry bellas daughter Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 12/26/2005 Starring: Scott Baio Kevin Lageman Run time: 105 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Melissa Martin

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17031 in DVD
• Brand: Universal
• Released on: 2004-02-03
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English, Italian
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 105 minutes

Amazon.com
People use the word "sleeper" loosely, but A Wedding for Bella (released to theaters as The Bread, My Sweet) truly fits the bill. This tiny-budgeted charmer had modest distribution, but managed to win over the audiences that stumbled across it. In order to please his beloved elders, an Italian-American (Scott Baio) plots to marry a woman (Kristin Minter) he doesn't even know, with much of the action set around the homey ethnic bakery he owns in Pittsburgh. Yes, it's all very Moonstruck, but without the star power or the glossy finish; in fact, the production values (and some of the acting) in this film are variable to the point of clumsy. But there's a warm, intimate mood here that's inextricable from the homemade style. And, in an image-changing turn, former kid star Scott Baio delivers a terrific, assured performance. It's the biggest surprise in a sweet movie. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

"Wedding" worth going to
Call it "My Big Fat Italian Wedding," but with more love, bittersweetness, family feeling, and 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, and 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) and 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 and Domi start awkwardly getting to know one another, all 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 and insult, and yet they're generous and loving to everybody. And love food. Even the broken English Bella and 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 and family, and 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, and 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 and Domi, and again it manages not to be soppy or cliched -- one scene has them exchanging questionnaires and information. It's awkward, and it's supposed to be. But even with terminal illnesses and faux weddings, "Wedding" has comedy too, such as the three brothers and Massimo goofing around at the tux fitting.

The star performance of this is undoubtedly Prinz as the dying Bella. She exudes warmth, kindness and a quiet strength. It's easy to see why everyone loves her. There are also stellar performances from Baio and Minter, who make the transition from self-arranged fiancees to lovers believable, and 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, and about love -- between lovers, spouses, and brothers. This tiny film is like bread -- good in every way.

And Speaking of Romance...
Okay, so I stumbled across this video in the store, and it looked relatively interesting. However, the reviews on the box were so good, that I had to try it out. Well, the truth is, the reviews were right. I LOVED this movie. I mean, loved it. I only have a small number of DVD's in my collection, but this will certainly be one of them. The movie is sweet, with the connection of family being at the forefront of the story. The movie is romantic, with this strong hero taking care of those around him, almost to his detriment (and oh yes, Ladies, Scott Baio is excellent, I mean excellent in this film). The movie is sexy, the chemistry between the hero and heroine is amazing, and I've decided to catalogue one of the lines in my little black book ("You're killing me..."). I'm a sucker for romance and love, and this definitely delivers. FYI: the DVD comes with very few bonus materials, it's pretty much just the movie. That kinda sucks because after you watch the movie, you want to learn more about it. Also, the movie does end a little abruptly, but that may just be a matter of personal taste. Still, all in all, this movie was a gem, and Scott Baio will definitely regain his heart throb status from his, almost exquisite, acting.

I would love to hear if anyone agrees with me on this particular review.

A wonderful wonderful movie
I am writing this review because I have to tell everyone and anyone that they must see this movie. I immediately watched it a second time as I did not want this movie to end (which I have never done before). Even if you do not have roots in Pittsburgh you will thoroughly enjoy the charm and strength of this movie. I am originally from Pittsburgh and my mother's side of the family was very traditional italian---I felt as if I was watching my favorite aunt and uncle in Bella and Massimo. Scott Baio's performance was great and believe me he looked good. He was so handsome and sweet it touches your heart but Rosemary Prinz's performance touched my soul. Believe me after you watch this movie you will want to share it----with everyone.