Traditional romance with a camp twist

Australian romantic comedy Big Mamma’s Boy might not seem like the gayest of films, but its straight love story is served with a sly sense of camp, thanks in no small part to the influence of its openly gay director, Franco Di Chiera.

The film, written by and starring comedian Frank Lotito as coddled Italian-Australian bachelor Rocco who has to stand on his own two feet when faced with the girl of his dreams (Holly Valance), immediately made Di Chiera think of the camp Rock Hudson/Doris Day concoctions of the 1950s.

“This film captured my imagination in that regard, and some of it has rubbed off. It’s got something of a retro, camp aesthetic,” Di Cheira told the Star Observer ahead of the film’s July 28 release.

“And it’s a bit of a comedy of errors. At one stage, Rocco’s mother thinks he might be gay, and the family’s butcher, who starts off as quite a homophobic character, ends up trying to set Rocco up with his male cousin.”

Joining Valance in the cast are a clutch of other gay faves, including Australian Idol-turned-dance diva Natalie Gauci and the incomparable Maria Venuti.

“Maria’s so used to going over the top, and she had to really work on pulling herself back for the screen. We were about to shoot one scene and she had curlers in her hair, ready to take them out before the shoot started. I told her to leave them in and she was horrified!

“I said ‘Look, Maria — this is serious! This is for your character, you have to do it’. She said, ‘Well I’ll only do it for you, darling, because I love you.’”

At 70, she still has what it takes to play a sex bomb.

“Oh, absolutely. And her boobs are perfect — but they were another struggle. Her cleavage was never low enough. Our poor costume people were in a constant battle because she wanted lower and lower cuts,” Di Chiera laughed.

INFO: Big Mamma’s Boy out July 28. www.bigmammasboymovie.com