American Cousins

New Jersey mobsters Settimo (Hedaya) and Gino (Nucci) land in Glasgow fleeing scary Ukrainian villains after a skewed deal. They find refuge under the roof of distant relative Roberto (Lepkowski), a mild Scots Italian chip-shop owner unaware of their shady past. It's no challenge to predict developments in this culture clash comedy, with the slick Yanks taking time to appreciate their steadfast, law-abiding hosts, American can-do attitudes rubbing off on the Scots, and demure-but-passionate chippy assistant Alice (Henderson) seeing her romantic options extend beyond her tongue-tied boss. Since the screenplay delivers everything you'd expect, more or less in the order you'd expect it, the film should be a redundant exercise. Actually, it only goes to show that likeable performances and the odd amusing set piece (a fish-frying competition, the horrors of Scottish country dancing) can, in the right circumstances, prove winning. A micro-budget, modestly cast piece of unpretentious entertainment.