What's the movie about?
Five years after getting out of prison, on the opening night of his „comeback“ Broadway musical Love Will Never Die, Tony Finelli does an exclusive, one-on-one interview with celebrity reporter Barbara Bischof for the primetime entertainment news program, Hollywood Hotline.
During the course of the interview, Tony looks back at his extraordinarily eventful life. In the 1990s, Tony Finelli, an Italian-American from New York was a star in Europe. He found fame starring in ELVIS: The Musical and together with his ever-present manager, Jürgen Drahtseil, turned that initial success into an international singing career. In 1997, at the height of Tony's fame, his manager was approached by an 'Italian concert promoter' regarding a big concert for Tony in Sicily. The 'promoter' revealed himself to be an undercover agent working for the German CIA (Verfassungsschutz) leading a secret sting operation to arrest 'Mr. Big' (Godfather of the Gambaretto Mafia Family) who was under investigation in Berlin for both tax evasion, and money laundering. In over their heads and caught between the Mafia and the German CIA, Tony and Jürgen were faced with the choice of either going to prison for Mr. Big or having both of their families murdered by the mob.
On the day Tony and Jürgen are released from prison, no one meets them at the gate. Tony returns to his home wanting to rebuild his life. Unbeknownst to Tony, his Russian wife Tina had filed for divorce shortly before his release. The former model and stewardess' reputation had been ruined by the scandal surrounding Tony's arrest. Alone with two children and no income, Tina turned their mansion into a bed and breakfast. Now as the owner of Tony's former home, she lives there with their two daughters, Lola and Lena, now 27 and 20 years old. Tony's parents, Pete and Bea Finelli as well as his ancient, Sicilian grandmother 'Nonna' live in their own apartment upstairs. Four generations of Finellis are living under one roof.
Recently, the maintenance man in Tina's boarding house quit. Out of love for his family, Tony Finelli, the proud peacock, swallows his pride and takes over the janitor's job, hoping to rebuild his life, restart his career and reconnect with Tina and his children. Like a clumsy Phoenix trying to rise from the ashes, Tony, the eternal optimist, sets out on a very bumpy journey to reclaim his life, rebuild his career, and win back the love and respect of his family. His extraordinary journey from a star, to jailbird, to janitor and back to the top of the entertainment game, is the stuff of legend and the story of The Finellis.
