Carlo Verdone
Viaggi Di Nozze

Ready? No, you’re not bothering me at all, tell me! (Raniero)

Dad, you know you really made a crappy family! (Giovannino)

Ivano: 'O famo strano?
Jessica: Famolo!

Today I wanted to review one of Verdone's best and most entertaining films, Viaggi di Nozze, released in 1995 and a box office hit. The film’s plot narrates three parallel stories of three completely different couples on honeymoon, modeled after Verdone’s other great film, released in 1981 "Bianco, Rosso e Verdone". The three couples, each with their flaws, lead to comic and tragicomic situations. Like Bianco, Rosso e Verdone a character, in this case the groom (Raniero, Giovannino, Ivano) is always played by Verdone.

Here are the three different stories from the film:

*DOTT. PROF. RANIERO COTTI BORRONI and FOSCA: after the wedding ceremony Raniero, a talkative and meticulous doctor, takes Fosca (Veronica Pivetti), who is depressed, sad, and anxious, to see his mausoleum at the cemetery where his previous wife, Scilla, who committed suicide five years earlier, is buried. Every occasion is good for a comparison between Fosca and Scilla. Moreover, Raniero never detaches from his cellphone, where he always has a patient, and he fears Fosca might catch any illness. While they are on a train heading to Venice and having lunch, his phone rings and Raniero speaks loudly about feces, liver, mucus, disgusting everyone in the dining car. Fosca, unable to stand Raniero anymore, leaves the compartment but faints. Then Raniero arrives, stops the train near Bologna. Once in Bologna, he takes her to a doctor friend for an examination, and she becomes increasingly depressed and exasperated by Raniero's behavior. Then they go to Padua, and he has another doctor friend examine Fosca. Finally, they arrive in Venice. After "consummating" the wedding night, interrupted as usual by the phone, Fosca cannot take it anymore and throws herself from the hotel balcony. On the day of the funeral in Venice, his phone rings for the millionth time. This time he left it inside Fosca's coffin and he has it reopened. On the phone is a woman with a sick father who wants Raniero’s help, and we already know how the story will end...

*GIOVANNINO and VALERIANA: Giovannino and Valeriana (Cinzia Mascoli) are the "unlucky" couple of the scenario. After an endlessly long wedding mass, where the priest (played by Verdone), who is talkative, never stops talking, they are forced to pull the plug after the church empties out. After risking missing the North Africa cruise ship, everything seems fine. But more troubles await. Their cabin is near the ship's horn. Then he receives a call that his father’s Albanian nurse has left and he must go take care of him. Valeriana continues the honeymoon alone, while Giovannino searches for help to care for his father and hopefully continue the honeymoon, but unfortunately no one helps him. Then, when he takes his father to his mother's house, it seems he has found the solution, except that the two have been divorced for 25 years and his mother has lived with a lawyer for 12 years, and as soon as they meet, they start arguing. After seemingly making peace, Giovannino attempts to return to Valeriana on the cruise, but at the airport he meets her as she is returning. This time Valeriana asks Giovannino for help because her sister attempted suicide. Arriving at Valeriana's sister’s house, they must take care of her after her suicide attempt and also babysit her child. After Valeriana's sister recovers, Stefano, her sister’s husband, arrives and they start arguing. It is soon discovered that Valeriana’s sister faked her suicide with mints. Shortly thereafter, Valeriana's sister escapes and takes their car, unaware they had the tickets to continue the honeymoon there. Then, upon arriving at a police station, it is discovered that Valeriana’s sister had an accident with their car, and Valeriana’s sister and Stefano get back together. At the station, they also find Giovannino's father, who escaped from his mother's house. So, they find themselves with Giovannino's father and without having a real honeymoon. They plan to redo the honeymoon with the end-of-year bonus as far away as possible from the problems.

*IVANO and JESSICA: Ivano and Jessica (Claudia Gerini) are the "tacky" and rock-loving couple of the film. They get married in a church with electric guitar music in the background, then go to Florence, and for them, every occasion is good for getting it on (the scene when they do it in the car and by the pool is hilarious). But Jessica gets increasingly bored with doing the same things over and over, so she asks Ivano to pretend not to know each other and to go to a restaurant. After finishing lunch in the restaurant, everything is ruined by Ivano’s tasteless behavior. Ivano and Jessica's life does not change and continues the same way.

This is a film to own for making you laugh from beginning to end, touching on comic or tragicomic situations throughout the film.

For curiosity, here is the soundtrack:

*"Bringing Down The Light" (1993) by Robert Fripp & David Sylvian

*"Cold Metal" (1988) by Iggy Pop

*"Honey White" (1995) by Morphine

*"I Know You (Part One)" (1992) by Morphine

*"Do You Take This Man?" (1994) by Diamanda Galás & John Paul Jones

*"I Witness" (1994) by Black Sabbath