Friends & Family
Encyclopedia
Friends & Family is a 2001 gay
-themed comedy film.
Stephen Torcelli lives with his partner Danny Russo in New York City
. When Stephen's parents call to announce a surprise visit for his father's birthday, Stephen and Danny scramble to conceal their double lives. The Torcellis already know that Stephen and Danny are gay; they don't know that they're enforcers for the Patrizzi crime family
. Stephen's father is an undercover FBI
agent and if he learns of their criminal affiliation he'll be obligated to report them. Stephen and Danny have told them that they run a catering company, even though neither of them can cook.
Meanwhile, Don Patrizzi's daughter Jenny has announced her engagement. Even though her fiancé is not Sicilian
, Don Patrizzi decides to throw her a lavish engagement party which gets combined with the birthday party for Mr Torcelli. Mrs Torcelli suggests that the boys cater the party, sending them into a panic. Fortunately one of Don Patrizzi's sons is an excellent chef - and the other is a master decorator - so the Patrizzi boys take care of the food and the decor. As a special treat for Jenny, Don Patrizzi forcibly "invites" a U.S. Senator under his control to the party.
It is this guest who is of the most interest to the Jenningses, the parents of Jenny's fiance. They run a militia
group which has declared war on the United States government and they want to take the opportunity to hold the Senator, a representative of that government, hostage.
Oblivious to this threat, Don Patrizzi's soldiers have been enlisted to serve as waiters for the party. Reasoning that a catering company owned by a gay couple would have gay employees, they recruit a flamboyant friend of the Danny and Stephen's to give them a crash course on gay (including such vital information as the correct order of Elizabeth Taylor
's husbands and the proper use of the expression "puh-lease!").
At the party all is going well until the Jenningses and their militiamen strike. They take the guests hostage and force the Senator to record a message for the media. Stephen and Danny, fearful that the tape will lead to police action and a deadly shootout, neutralize the militia with the help of the newly gay-acting Patrizzi soldiers and some random drag queen
s that were brought to the party for a vaguely defined purpose. With their cover blown, Stephen and Danny tell Mr Torcelli that they're ready for him to turn them in. However, the birthday he's celebrating is his 60th, meaning that he's been mandatorily retired and is no longer with the FBI. In other happy news for Don Patrizzi, Jenny's fiancé turns out to be adopted and he was actually born Sicilian after all.
on October 21, 2003
.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
-themed comedy film.
Stephen Torcelli lives with his partner Danny Russo in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. When Stephen's parents call to announce a surprise visit for his father's birthday, Stephen and Danny scramble to conceal their double lives. The Torcellis already know that Stephen and Danny are gay; they don't know that they're enforcers for the Patrizzi crime family
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
. Stephen's father is an undercover FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agent and if he learns of their criminal affiliation he'll be obligated to report them. Stephen and Danny have told them that they run a catering company, even though neither of them can cook.
Meanwhile, Don Patrizzi's daughter Jenny has announced her engagement. Even though her fiancé is not Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Don Patrizzi decides to throw her a lavish engagement party which gets combined with the birthday party for Mr Torcelli. Mrs Torcelli suggests that the boys cater the party, sending them into a panic. Fortunately one of Don Patrizzi's sons is an excellent chef - and the other is a master decorator - so the Patrizzi boys take care of the food and the decor. As a special treat for Jenny, Don Patrizzi forcibly "invites" a U.S. Senator under his control to the party.
It is this guest who is of the most interest to the Jenningses, the parents of Jenny's fiance. They run a militia
Militia (United States)
The role of militia, also known as military service and duty, in the United States is complex and has transformed over time.Spitzer, Robert J.: The Politics of Gun Control, Page 36. Chatham House Publishers, Inc., 1995. " The term militia can be used to describe any number of groups within the...
group which has declared war on the United States government and they want to take the opportunity to hold the Senator, a representative of that government, hostage.
Oblivious to this threat, Don Patrizzi's soldiers have been enlisted to serve as waiters for the party. Reasoning that a catering company owned by a gay couple would have gay employees, they recruit a flamboyant friend of the Danny and Stephen's to give them a crash course on gay (including such vital information as the correct order of Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
's husbands and the proper use of the expression "puh-lease!").
At the party all is going well until the Jenningses and their militiamen strike. They take the guests hostage and force the Senator to record a message for the media. Stephen and Danny, fearful that the tape will lead to police action and a deadly shootout, neutralize the militia with the help of the newly gay-acting Patrizzi soldiers and some random drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
s that were brought to the party for a vaguely defined purpose. With their cover blown, Stephen and Danny tell Mr Torcelli that they're ready for him to turn them in. However, the birthday he's celebrating is his 60th, meaning that he's been mandatorily retired and is no longer with the FBI. In other happy news for Don Patrizzi, Jenny's fiancé turns out to be adopted and he was actually born Sicilian after all.
DVD release
Friends & Family was released on Region 1 DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on October 21, 2003
2003 in home video
-Movie releases:The following movies were released on video on the following dates:-Movie releases:The following movies were released on video on the following dates:-Movie releases:...
.