Marcello Fondato
Altrimenti Ci Arrabbiamo

I believe that at least once, whether willingly or not, we've found ourselves laughing or at least watching one of the adventures performed by this exceptional "pair" of actors, protagonists for almost three generations of a comedy of which I have no memory of vulgarity.

Carlo Pedersoli, in the '50s often stood out on the sports pages of the printed press due to a brilliant swimming career that earned him 11 gold medals in as many Italian championships. It was his wife who led him to the gates of cinema, and he changed his name to Bud Spencer, thanks especially to a star-spangled beer he loved to drink. Mario Girotti, on the other hand, contrary to popular belief, was not the son of Massimo, a celebrity of Italian cinema before and after the Second World War, despite a strong resemblance. He became Terence Hill to portray spaghetti-western characters, mainly adopting his wife's surname.

After a brief period of successfully overcoming the initial testing phase, the famous duo, in this hilarious comedy mainly shot in Spain, deals with a Puma Dune-Buggy model, red with a yellow roof, won in a tie after a thrilling race between rally and the systematic wrecking of car bodies. The "wheelbarrow," as it’s affectionately nicknamed, is irresistible, and to prevent improper acquisition, it needs to be played for on more or less equal footing. Discarding the idea of a card game or an arm-wrestling match, a contest is proposed that, in the spirit of Pantagruel, is played with beer and sausages.

Everything proceeds until the impromptu interruption of a band of bungling gangsters, interested in expropriating land on which an amusement park thrives, disrupts the hearty feast and, worse, irreversibly damages the precious wheelbarrow following a ramming incident.

The film's strength is ingenious naivety. Voluntary, among other things, in brightly constructing characters so fake they seem real to children or adults who still enjoy having fun without banality. The gangster is a chubby big kid more devoted to culinary interests than to any presumed thirst for power. The right-hand man is a kind of criminal psychologist subsisting on milk and carrots, and a band of bunglers is at their service. Of course, such a gang of baddies must be opposed with violence. The kind that makes you laugh and doesn't hurt at all. A resounding barrage of punches will explosively fill the rest of the film. Not even the external intervention of a paid hitman named "Paganini," who would only use one shot from his trusty Remington to eliminate enemies, will suffice.

Starting from the phrase that recalls the movie's title, and the very amusing soundtrack by Guido and Maurizio de Angelis, for the occasion Oliver Onions, there are at least four unforgettable sequences that, despite the inevitable "panta rei," never stop being entertaining.

Can one not laugh during the sequence at the amusement park, when the duo mockingly taunts the gangster's loyal minion with swagger? The Pepsi distributor, the bumper cars, the test of strength with the spaceship, modeled, among other things, from Alberto Lattuada's neorealistic work "Senza pietà."

Can one not laugh during the scene of the solemn brawl in the gym? Who could beat an agile and fast Terence Hill, who also turns out to be an excellent gymnast among the bars? And the power of Bud Spencer? He, with those hands that would allow him to play tennis without rackets, doesn't need to fight. A single slap with accompaniment is enough to lay you out like a bath mat. If you prefer to remain stunned for a few minutes, a punch to the head will certainly satisfy you.

The scene of the motorcycle duel with the aid of the nearsighted hunter and Bud Spencer's unforgettable singing performance (Boo bo-bo-boo, bo-bo-boo, bo-bo-boo...) in the "Firefighters' Choir," directed by a neurotic conductor, is also immensely strong.

A very funny film, of the most famous as a screenwriter, Marcello Fondato. Perhaps the best of the duo, if not topped by "They Call Me Trinity". Noteworthy, in the role of the carrot-eating German psychologist, is Donald Pleasence, who played various roles, including dramatic ones, highlighted in the "Halloween" series, which began with a certain John Carpenter behind the camera.