•
Rating:
One could begin the review of a film like this by pointing out the lack of ideas and fantasy that plague our cinema, now punctuated by holiday comedies at Christmas, contemporary youthful tales around Valentine's Day, "auteur" films around Cannes and Venice, inevitably launched towards Oscar nominations and therefore re-released in spring. Amidst all this, the trend of remaking cult Italian comedies from the '70s-'80s is gaining traction, which started a few seasons ago with "Febbre da Cavallo - La Mandrakata" and continued with "Il ritorno del Monnezza" and "Eccezziunale veramente capitolo secondo... me".
Ladies and gentlemen... welcome to the New Italian Cinema! (even though the comparison with foreign productions isn't that staggering...)
If last week someone had told me I would find myself at the cinema watching the sequel of the successful adventures of Oronzo Canà (almost reaching a quarter of a century by now), I wouldn't have believed it: not due to prejudice, but out of healthy realism. However, due to a series of coincidences, I had to go watch the movie and I thought, "well, it might get a few laughs, if only for the good old Lino Banfi...".
The story is, of course, set in the present day, and if at first there's an attempt to highlight the difference between the minimally more spontaneous football attitude of then (it was 1984) and the posh, starry attitude of now, it is lost almost immediately. Oronzo has retired to the countryside to manage the family oil mill with his wife, and when Longobarda returns to Serie A thanks to the new Russian management, he's invited to share his thoughts on Sky. If at first, it seems like a scandal is about to burst regarding Oronzo's statements about his past dismissal, soon after, the good Canà is strangely called back to lead Longobarda...
The original cast was almost entirely recalled for the occasion, eventually, even Aristoteles reappears, and narrative references to the first chapter are inevitable. The plot is limping, too convoluted and frankly boring in many parts. The script (!) gets into sterile situations from which it escapes with deus ex machina thrown in haphazardly. Attempted gags already seen with trivial and forced misunderstandings are mixed with no significant effect, and the new characters, from the Japanese self-marker Kiku to the star player Caninho, bring nothing new. Not to mention the omnipresent advertising for the film's sponsors.
The problem with this film isn't the quality, it would be absurd to expect this. The problem is that it isn't funny, and it's not enough that Lino Banfi fully resumes the nervousness and exasperation of the type of character that endeared him to the public. It's evident that he tries to hold all the comedy on him, but it doesn't work.
Add a truly horrible direction and photography that isn't even at the level of a TV drama and you get a complete mess.
You can't expect these remakes to have the "spontaneity" of the originals that inspired them, but it also doesn't seem right to base everything on references to things already done that will automatically make you smile, if only out of affection. However, you can't live off of past glory in this way, and you can't legitimize this trend.
The most irritating thing is that this mental laziness is the result of the showcase of all the famous characters parading in the film parodying themselves. Irritating because self-irony is one thing; openly revealing without any decency that one is knowingly living off a joke that costs billions and holds the country in its grip is another. An example of this is the scene between Lino Banfi and Lotito, or that of Moggi as the station master, or Oronzo's nightmare in court. This film is second in weekly box office earnings. Is it possible that the national audience is really so easily pleased to allow this? Before entering, I hoped to at least chuckle reluctantly. Towards the end of the film, realizing the level we've sunk to, a sense of disheartenment washed over me.
Not to be watched, not even by mistake on a pirated DVD.
Loading comments slowly
