James Gandolfini's Friends and Family Gather to Remember Late Star, Broadway Dims Their Lights

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Friends and family gathered today to say goodbye to James Gandolfini.

A private, invitation-only viewing was held this afternoon for the late Sopranos actor in his hometown of Park Ridge, N.J., at the Robert Spearing Funeral Home.

"Of course it's difficult. This man was like everybody's hero and it was just the worst thing in the world that could possibly have happened," Gandolfini's relative Bob Price told CBS.

PHOTOS: James Gandolfini's biggest roles

Gandolfini's sisters Leta Gandolfini and Johanna Antonacci were present, along with the star's 8-month-old daughter, Liliana Ruth Gandolfini, who arrived flanked by guards and a blanket.

The actor's body returned to the U.S. Sunday night after being flown in from Rome.

"On behalf of the Gandolfini family, I would like to thank the Italian authorities for all the assistance they have rendered in expediting the formalities necessary to repatriate James Gandolfini's remains to the United States," spokesman Michael Kobold said.

"It has been our privilege to be guests in your beautiful country, despite the difficult circumstances. We sincerely thank you."

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In addition, Broadway theaters will dim their lights this week to pay tribute to the fallen star, with theater marquees going dark for one minute tonight to honor the actor.

"James Gandolfini was a consummate actor who brought individuality to each role and inspired a true connection with the audience. Whether on screen or on a Broadway stage, he made every role believable and seemingly effortless," Executive Director of The Broadway League Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement.

"Our thoughts go out to his family and friends, and certainly to all of his fans who felt as if they knew his characters."

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The 51-year-old actor suffered a heart attack in his room at Hotel Boscolo in Rome, Italy, last Wednesday. Gandolfini's teenage son was with his father in the room and called for help. Hotel staff subsequently rushed to the room and found the Emmy winner collapsed on the bathroom floor.

Workers attempted to resuscitate him, but he was later pronounced dead at the Policlinico Umberto I hospital.

The news of Gandolfini's death struck Hollywood with shock, and numerous celebs and colleagues gave their condolences and blessings to the late actor and his family.

A funeral service will be held on Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in upper Manhattan.

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Mutual Friends: Film Review

A gaggle of well-to-do New Yorkers fumble their way through relationship crises in Matthew Watts's Mutual Friends, whose various subplots were penned by multiple writing teams, then woven into a circle-of-friends narrative leading everyone to one very uncomfortable surprise party. The film's comic flow suffers from this patchwork approach, with individual storylines feeling both incomplete and overemphasized; as a whole, the film is diverting but unlikely to draw much attention.

The central point for all this action is Liv (Caitlin Fitzgerald), who is planning a birthday party for her hunky fiance Christoph (Cheyenne Jackson). As she goes about the day's harried preparations -- handling cake and catering crises, accidentally inviting a friend-of-a-friend who turns out to be Christoph's long-term ex-girlfriend -- her siblings and friends have troubles of their own.

Beatrice (Christina Cole) has gotten pregnant and doesn't realize how freaked out this makes her husband; Sammy (Ross Partridge), intuiting that his wife is cheating on him, enlists his assistant Chernus (Michael Chernus) to go on a stakeout; Thomas (Devin Burnam), given a very specific party-prep chore to do, instead spends the day with a stripper buying party favors that will definitely not go with the event's we've-all-married-to-lawyers vibe. Then there's Nate (Peter Scanavino), Liv's best friend, who wants to chat with her about their ill-advised night together last Labor Day.

With the emphasis the script puts on Nate's no-strings-attached romantic philosophy rubbing against his need to clear the air about this one-night stand, even a poor student of romantic comedies will see this one's end coming early. Similarly prefab is the film's hunger to include shots of as many Big Apple sights as possible, as if setting these young actors against images of Chelsea and Central Park will make them more convincing as successful professionals. It doesn't, really, and token slacker Nate isn't as roguishly charming as the film thinks he is, even with an acoustic guitar in his hands. The picture's snowballing social mishaps provide for a laugh here and there, but almost all those assorted plotlines fizzle when they're all stacked up together.

Production Companies: Covert Productions, Firebrand Films

Cast: Caitlin Fitzgerald, Peter Scanavino, Cheyenne Jackson, Michael Stahl-David, Christina Cole, Ross Partridge

Director: Matthew Watts

Screenwriters: Matthew Watts, Frank Angones, Jessica Sue Burstein, Craig DiFolco, Ross Partridge, Olivia Silver, Amy Higgins

Producers: Jennifer Westin

Executive producers: Michael Tannen

Director of photography: Ming Kia Leung

Production designer: Simone Duff

Music: Justin Rice

Costume designer: Tracy Moulton

Editor: Jeff Gilbert

Sales: Noor Ahmed, Reder & Feig LLP

No rating, 84 minutes

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