Stream It Or Skip It: ‘What Would Sophia Loren Do?’ on Netflix, A Short and Sweet Documentary About the Lives of Two Incredible Women and the Families They Made

What do an Italian-American woman from New Jersey and an Italian Oscar-winning star actress have in common? Netflix’s original short documentary film, What Would Sophia Loren Do?, seeks to find an answer as we spend an enjoyable 32 minute romp with Nancy “Vincenza” Kulik, a mother, grandmother, and spitfire of a Jersey gal who has spent most of her life admiring Italian actress Sophia Loren’s life and work. Interspersed with footage of Loren, herself, we follow Kulik as she recounts how various parts of her life, family, and resilience have been inspired by Loren and influenced by the titular question of “What would Sophia Loren do?”

WHAT WOULD SOPHIA LOREN DO?: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Born in the United States from parents who came to this country from Naples, Italy, Nancy Kulik is Italian through and through, and absolutely proud of it. She has attempted to celebrate, carry on, and honor her heritage and identity, both through herself and by passing these traits onto her four children and their families. She is a firecracker full of passion and spunk, with plenty of stories to tell about her own life, family, and philosophies as a mother, wife, and woman, but perhaps what guides her the most through it all is her love for and admiration of Italian actress, Sophia Loren.

Since she was young, Kulik has watched Loren’s work and followed her life journey, marveling at Loren’s skills as an actress and confident woman, while also drawing parallels between the actress’s life and her own. For example, like Kulik’s parents, Loren is from Naples. Additionally, both women made it their life goals to become mothers, raise a family, choose a reliable life partner, and to work hard to pave the way for the future they wanted and to Al’s ways get back up when knocked down. And if ever Kulik had a moment of self-doubt or uncertainly, she only need ask herself “What would Sophia Loren do?” to re-center herself and get back on the right track.

All of this is intercut with film clips, personal photos, and interviews of and with Loren, herself (who, hilariously enough, wondered why the heck anyone would ask themselves Kulik’s titular question). While we do hear Kulik’s words about how her and Loren have various parallels in their lives, its the clips of Loren speaking and working that reflect and solidify this idea.

In only 32 minutes, the movie does a wonderful job of showing how these two very different-seeming women are quite alike in the ways that count, culminating in a wonderful face-to-face that seems to be as impactful for one woman as it is for the other. This one is for the moms! And Italians, but mostly the moms.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: What Would Sophia Loren Do? feels a bit like documentaries and even shorter-form videos (like an Oprah segment, for one) where loved ones are reunited or in which regular everyday people get to meet their favorite celebrities or the person who inspired them… So basically, something like you’d see on Oprah , or a much happier and lighter version of Three Identical Strangers. But mostly, it’ll just make you want to watch Sophia Loren movies and eat a ton of spaghetti.

Performance Worth Watching: It isn’t exactly a performance because she’s just being herself, but Kulik is an utter delight throughout this documentary. And, of course, Loren shines every moment she’s onscreen, but is especially wonderful when she and Kulik finally come face to face at the end of the film.

Memorable Dialogue: Kulik drops several nice and memorable lines throughout the documentary, but one of the most impactful was that, “No one gets everything they want in life. No one does. But, we all get enough to feel that our lives are important.”

Sex and Skin: Besides a little tasteful cleavage from Loren, a few old film clips of hers that only hint at suggestive activity, and some talk of hip swaying and garter belt wearing, there’s nothing too risqué to see here. Just too boss women who created the lives they wanted to live.

Our Take: For a title that probably hasn’t come across the radar of a lot of Netflix users so far, it’s a pretty perfect watch for just about anyone right now, especially during the current pandemic. (And if you loved Sophia Loren in The Life Ahead, that goes double.) As our attention spans dwindle and all plot and trope-heavy fictional show or movie begins to blend together and begin to all feel the same, this is the perfect kind of content to shake things up and cleanse your palate. Both its brevity and documentary nature quickly pull in the audience and keep them interested while also offering the healthy dose of pure, positive humanity that we all probably need right now. It’s probably not going to change your life or be the most thrilling movie you’ve seen lately, but it will make you feel good, and sometimes that’s all we need.

Our Call: STREAM IT! The courage and strength of these two mothers from very different worlds will leave you feeling warmer than a good cappuccino.

Watch What Would Sophia Loren Do? on Netflix