American Cousins

SYNOPSIS

A Glasgow fish and chip shop provides sanctuary for a couple of New Jersey mobsters in this well-performed and charming British crime comedy drama. Hoods Gino (Danny Nucci) and Settimo (Dan Hedaya) flee to Scotland after a botched deal with Ukrainian mobsters and take refuge with their unsuspecting, fish-frying cousin Roberto (Gerald Lepkowski), who thinks a .45 Magnum is an ice cream. The tension mounts when Gino makes a pass at Alice (Shirley Henderson), the hired help who's cherished in secret by his mild-mannered cousin, and Settimo draws a gun on menacing debt collectors. Director Donald Coutts throws in all sorts of Mafia clichés with total disregard for momentum, but there's a cheerful absurdity about it all that is infectious.