AllMovie

Though novelist John Fante thought his literary career was over and forgotten by the time he started writing screenplays for Hollywood, his work gained critical prominence in the years following his death in 1983, and those who appreciate the pithy textures of his classic books will find similar qualities hiding in the corners of this domestic comedy. Adapted from his 1952 book, Fante is once again exploring his own life in a semi-autobiographical setting, this time the days leading up to the birth of his first child, when he is forced to reckon with the family heritage he had abandoned after leaving home. It's certainly lighthearted Hollywood fare, but Full of Life is also full of earthy edges, supplying gentle laughs and warm homilies without ignoring the realities of living. As Emily Rocco, Judy Holliday is fully pregnant in a film era that was squeamish about such blunt depictions of the "condition," and though her hormonal craziness is played for laughs, it isn't exaggerated for comic effect. Richard Conte, as Fante alter ego Nick Rocco, pigheadedly rejects his family's old world values in a desperate battle against his ethnicity. Salvatore Baccaloni is outlandishly Italian as Nick's hard-drinking father, boiling over with emotional hand gestures and broken English, but in his hands Papa never feels like a stereotype. The arguments over Catholicism which form the backbone of the story deal with the complicated reasons behind people's decisions to believe or not believe, and Nick's return to the church feels natural. The climactic childbirth doesn't shy away from Emily's pain and exhaustion, and modern viewers might be shocked by her casual cigarette and wine consumption while carrying the baby. Full of Life was a hit and Fante's screenplay won the Writers Guild of America Screen Award for Best Written Comedy the following year, but the writer never found the same satisfaction with his script work that he did with his novels. While not nearly as raw and truthful as books like "Wait Until Spring, Bandini" or "Ask the Dust," Fante readers should find interest in this big screen adaptation.