Hello guys, we continue our analysis of the “minor” Italian cinema in the wake of the previous review of "Sposerò Simon Le Bon", checking if, perhaps, there isn't a common thread between the young cinema of the '80s and the young cinema of today: which, from my perspective, would almost mean: watch out Italy, you haven't changed too much in the last twenty years, except for "superstructural" aspects.
To verify the soundness of my intuition, nothing is better than the examination of one of the worst films ever conceived in our country, for which even the nostalgia effect that usually enhances these works cannot apply: I am referring to "College" ('84), by the acclaimed duo Castellano & Pipolo, now headed for retirement after the television and cinematographic successes of the previous decades and their exploits with Celentano and his ilk.
Pretty insipid plot: a wealthy heiress (played by Federica Moro, the quintessential icon of '80s beauty and style) is sent by the executors of her (presumably deceased) parents' will to an exclusive boarding school, apparently located in Brianza. The institution in question - attended by girls, daughters of prominent families - is situated near a naval academy (in Brianza?!?), itself attended by lads with fit biceps and the charm of the uniform.
The proximity between opposing poles creates an obvious electro-romantic tension, based on the eternal ascending climax: feigned indifference, apparent hatred, playful tension, mutual interest, love, marriage.
What a bore, you might say. And what a mess, I add: because if the story is banal, or, rather, a repetition of heavily overused clichés from cinema, B-grade literature, soap operas, and whatnot, the staging is at least confusing, with a subject and a screenplay that overshadow the underlying plot: the film boils down, in summary, to a jumble of scenes without head or tail, often based on fake spectacular choreographies (aerobics, synchronized swimming, college skating), or on predictable and not funny gags about school life.
The most serious mistake made by mature professionals like Castellano & Pipolo is, in my opinion, the voluntary absence of comic scenes entrusted to accomplished character actors often used in other films of the genre, with the effect of making the film akin to a video clip over an hour long, rather than a humble operetta of the genre.
This results, therefore, in the absolute aging of a work destined for oblivion, except for having paved the way (in '89) for a television series of the same name, in which the defects of the film are partly compensated by the use of accomplished character actors, like Fabio Ferrari and Fabrizio Bracconeri coming from the success of "I ragazzi della III C".
Nothing to remember, therefore, except for the sculptural bangs of Federica Moro and the music by Claudio Simonetti. At most, remember the cameo of the talented Riccardo Rossi, I believe in one of his first films (it seems he dubbed Toppy in Daitarn III but I ask you to verify).
At this point, my fifteen readers will wonder: but Il_Paolo, and your initial thesis about the connections between the young cinema of that time and the young cinema of today, or rather the sinister link between Italy then and the current one, between the '80s and '00s, between schoolgirls, cadets, and their children?
Dear guys, your always Il_Paolo would prefer to remain silent, except to give you a name and surname to reflect on: the TV series derived from this work was written and scripted by Federico Moccia, who may have had a hand, unaccredited, in the subject and screenplay of this film (but IMDb does not confirm).
Silently Yours
Il_Paolo
Loading comments slowly