My friend recommended this film a few months ago; apparently I was watching all the classic Italian films that Italians themselves rarely watch. Directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who won an Academy Award for the famous La vita è bella, Johnny Stecchino is an earlier gem from the comedian.
'Benigni stars as Dante, a kind-hearted but naive buffoon who is happy driving the school bus for a group of mentally handicapped children but feels he is somehow missing out on life and love.
His fortunes take a dramatic turn when he meets Maria (played by Benigni's real-life wife Nicoletta Braschi), a dangerous driver who seems immediately enamoured of him. Dante is soon invited to her sumptuous Palermo villa, pleasantly unaware that he's being drawn into an underworld plot. He bears an amazing likeness to Maria's gangster husband, who also happens to be a stool pidgeon and it would be very convenient for the couple if the mobster, in the shape of Dante, was seen to be dead and buried.'
Generally, I don't watch comedies, but this film was witty and energetic; and the hilarity translated from the Italian to the English brilliantly. What it lacked in cinematography it made up for in the colour palette and the beautiful glimpses of Italy. Johnny Stecchino may not be a film I watch over and over again, but it is definitely worth a watch.
