When Pittsburghers hear “that’s amore,” they probably think of the classic Dean Martin song or maybe former Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli, who used the ballad as his walkup music and later in a sketch where he provided love advice for fans at PNC Park.
Here’s another potential association: “That’s Amore” is a film shot around the Pittsburgh area with mostly local actors and crew members. Now streaming for free on Amazon Prime Video, the zany romantic comedy follows a group of Italian Americans who come together in love and friendship through a series of missteps inherent to the genre.
It’s the second locally filmed rom-com to drop on a streaming service in the last few months after “Happiest Season” premiered on Hulu in November. For this one, think “Moonstruck,” but replace Cher and Nicolas Cage with yinzers.
“We’re all Italians. We grew up in that,” said Dave Petti, the film’s writer and one of its stars. “So let’s do a fun, romantic story about a group of Italians who are a little older finding their way through a time in their lives where things present themselves to them just like everyone else.”
The 67-year-old from Ellwood City is a former dentist who a few years ago sold his office in Plum and began working on the script for “That’s Amore,” his first screenplay. The story follows Rocco, a dentist played by Petti — “You write what you know,” he quipped — trying to woo the lovely Lucia (Tammy Pescatelli), who has an agenda of her own. Naturally, hijinks ensue.
The movie was directed by Dan Helbling, also a Pittsburgh native, and features a cast of mostly Western Pennsylvania residents and a crew comprised predominantly of Point Park University students. Various locations around the region were used for filming, including Petti’s old dental office in Plum (which the new owner kindly allowed him to use), an Italian club in Sewickley, a church in Meadville and a classroom at La Roche University courtesy of Joe Puglisi, a La Roche marketing professor who plays Rocco’s best friend, Gino.
“We thought about doing a romantic comedy because at the time, all the opportunities were really with being in the mob or a zombie or some horror picture,” said Puglisi, 72, in his thick Brooklyn accent. “The place was inundated with that, so we were like, why not do something different?”
Petti said he and Puglisi, who has lived in Pittsburgh since 1989, were feeling the same way about the lack of acting opportunities available to them, so they decided to come up with roles for themselves.
Most of the filming for “That’s Amore” was done in the summer 2018 and the film began screening at The Strand Theater in Zelienople theater in February 2020 to almost sold-out crowds. They got through four shows before the COVID-19 pandemic derailed their theatrical plans and forced them to pivot to an Amazon Prime Video release.
It’s not lost on Petti that his film is up there for anyone on Prime to check out next to prestigious movies and TV shows like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “One Night in Miami.”
“We had such a wonderful team of people, [and] it came out very, very well,” he said. “It’s really neat to see that translate and go into Amazon Prime and all the streaming services. ... It’s really neat to be able to see yourself on that screen.”
Pescatelli, 51, of Meadville said she was happy to find work as a leading lady near her hometown of Perry, Ohio, and her adopted home in Pittsburgh.
“I’ve never had to carry a movie,” she said. “It’s always nice to be the goofy, loud-mouthed best friend. It was really incumbent on me to dig down and do my best, and still bring a little bit of the sarcasm. So I hope I did that.”
Pescatelli also enjoyed working with the late Barbara Russell, who played her mother in the film. Known predominantly for her more than 30 years of work on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” Russell’s appearance in “That’s Amore” was her last on-screen role. Pescatelli called her a “really special person” and said “she couldn’t have been a brighter light.”
The filmmakers hope movie lovers — especially local ones — check out the film and continue supporting local entertainers during a time when, as Pescatelli put it, “the show business industry has just by a breath missed being obliterated because of COVID.”
“As I look at this year and the COVID situation ... any film that can bring laughter and some joy to somebody, and they can sit around with their family and have a few laughs, is kind of what I had in mind,” Puglisi said. “What we have here in Pittsburgh is an incredible amount of resources and talent, and hopefully the film shows that.”
Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxel222.
First Published: February 12, 2021, 12:00 p.m.
