Once Around is a romantic film that every family can relate to. It is about the Bella's, an Italian family that has trouble adjusting to their daughter's new husband who disrupts the family's chemistry. In watching the film I could not help but think about how each character related to the people in my family.
My father reminded me of Joe Bella, the head of the household. A man who prides himself on family values, and having a close relationship with his children. I can only imagine his dismay when he found out that I was pregnant and that my child's father was not going to play a big role in her future. He never showed me his anger for the sake of my feelings but I knew that it was there. And when my daughter's father did come into the picture for a brief amount of time my father said nothing because he knew that having him around made me happy. My father had to do a lot of adjusting because of this; Niquon (Jordan's father) practically lived at my house, for three months he was there morning, noon and night sleeping in my bed, eating my parent's food, doing nothing productive and my dad said nothing to him, and rarely anything to me.
He did however confide his feelings to my mother who then relayed them to me. This brings me to my mother, similar to Marilyn Bella who sided with her husband, yet tried to maintain a level of understanding for both parties involved, the mediator. She knew that I cared for Niquon, but at the same time she had no problem telling him when he was overstepping his boundaries, similar to the scene in the Once Around when Marilyn tells Sam that singing his song would not be appropriate for their family gathering. This is something that my mom would definitely do.
My sister would be Jan Bella, my friend. The person who I could come to with my problems, and who would support me even if she was a little jealous or did not agree with the decisions I was making.