A pleasant diversion from the mostly shallow and obnoxious gangster genre, American Cousins is a welcome script for wiseguy scenarios, injecting a surprising amount of tenderness and authenticity into the limited budget release. Taking place mainly in Scotland, the story revolves around two US mafioso's who end up having to stash away in this grey-splattered alternate universe, substituting guns and drugs with fish and chips. It is a charming little niche film that got a moderate amount of low-key critical praise, but will likely find a tough time among American markets. The whole Eurofellas vibe, while quite appealing to anyone looking for different angles to detail these types of characters, will largely go unnoticed by most organized crime fans from an emphasis focusing on the intimate and subtly amusing aspects of these hoodlums journey. Also, the heavy Scottish accents, paired with a somewhat bleak production should all but guarantee the movie need not appeal to the chief demographic it was made for on this side of the pond, which might be a good thing.While the film may not be a hit for the Sopranos set (despite the extended cameo from Vincent Pastore), the gentle and impressively nuanced talent found in this heartfelt synthesis of writer, director and acting overrides most of the film's shoddy production. In turns funny, heartfelt, and vengeful, potency found within this mild hybrid becomes solidified by the great casting choices exemplified by the understated romanticism of lead Gerald Lepkowski and anchored by an always gruffly adorable Dan Hedaya. Do not let the generic cover art fool you, this is about as indie and subtle the gangster drama has veered.

Beautiful,heart-warming film.That shows, that the true love of a man can't be stopped by any misfortune in the world. Shirley Henderson´s performance is just wonderful and Gerald Lepkowski does a great job playing the hard-working , forlorn Italian with the biggest heart on earth.

I saw this film 7 hours ago and my sides still hurt from laughing. This is NOT high drama, but an excellent escapism film with well developed characters - deliberately stereotypes but they achieve the purpose of the director. Excellent acting - you'll walk out wiping the tears from your eyes and smiling at everybody.

I just got back from seeing this film at the 2003 Calgary International Film Festival. I had read good things going into it, and I was pretty well satisfied.I won't give a synopsis of the story since if you read the other comments, it's there, however I will give a general overview of how I thought the film performed.The acting was great. I really didn't have a problem with it. It was convincing, and to see some of the minor characters really stand out because of what they do and the way they do it was really nice to see. Gerald Lepkowski does a wonderful job as Roberto. We get to see his somewhat simple life and what is important to him. Shirley Henderson does a great job as well.The plot is simple, but it works. There are a few surprises through out the film that are great. It makes it not predictable and keeps you interested because you aren't sure just what you'll find.This is more of a comedy than a mobster type movie. And as that I think it does just fine. There are a lot of one liners, but they're amusing. As a mobster movie, this isn't, although you would think this by looking at it. It is very much about cousins, and family. 8/10