Commediasexi (2006)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The first must-see film of the year.

This comedy has told the public what was the blend of Italian politics, sex and show business some years before the great scandals that have revealed this mixture to the world. What seemed a not-so-funny story, was a public denunciation. The movie had few television appearances probably because of this.The minister Massimo Bonfili of a conservative party, husband and father of twin girls, has an affair with starlet Martina. Massimo job concerns family policy and he is always addressed by a cardinal.However, one day discovers that run of rumors that he would incriminate his secret relationship, which would destroy his life and career, and brings his family to France for a holiday and "entrusts" his mistress to his faithful chauffeur Mariano, who will pretend he in Paris with Bonfili family not to be discovered by his wife Dora.Mariano follows Martina during the launch of her film, which will bring it to appear in the gossip magazines. So Dora discovers the intimate friendship between her husband and Martina, which will cause her hospitalization and a deep family crisis. At home Mr Bonfili the family life is getting worse, while his wife, Pia, has a secret relationship with the chef of cooking that are attending. All the characters, in the end, find a way to exploit the situation...

The film is nothing special, but it can entertain for ninety minutes without being trivial as many Italian Christmas comedies. The plot is similar to many other stories, the triangle Important Man – Important Man's Servant – Beautiful Woman often recurs in pochades, also better than this one. When it was shoot, in Italy a similar situation was happening: girls without any talent were put in a good word for TV by powerful men (senators, politicians, party spokesmen). The magistrates called it Vallettopoli. So, the movie was a little prophetic, although when it came out in December, the scandal was already forgotten.Here we have a bunch of great Italian actors (Sergio Rubini, Margherita Buy, Stefania Rocca, Michele Placido) who balance well two famous television faces, Paolo Bonolis and Elena Santarelli, for the first time actors in a full-length film. Bonolis imitates Alberto Sordi; Miss Santarelli is surprisingly decent, considering that she didn't show any talent in TV, but she pales miserably in front of Margherita Buy and Stefania Rocca.So, basically, a funny comedy like many others.

Released and billed as the alternative movie besides the couple Boldi-De Sica this Christmas, unfortunately Alessandro D'Alatri fails in his effort to craft a valid option to smile and meanwhile reflect about our recent society like we did with Muccino's Remember me, my love three years ago.It starts promisingly with a funny dolly shot of the characters: the beautiful mistress, the honest/modest chauffeur, the politician's wealthy family. A look inside the show business, its fallacious happiness and indecent compromises.Then, the film reveals slowly its real shapeless nature, without a Soul, a category where to place it in. When you realize it was just an average comedy with adultery-remorse-disclosure-happy ending it's too late, and 7 euros in the ticket could have been spared. The boring second part made of phone calls, nonsense chats, sinking in the dirtiest TV-fiction standards nearly killed me.Not all is to waste, I'll be honest. D'Alatri still has a good touch and the debuting Santarelli + Bonolis aren't bad at all in the acting. The ending it's quite unpredictable and I found it delightful, fair after all !2 stars over 5

First of all we must consider this film is out at Christmas and which kind of films he has to fight against at box office. Here in Italy Christmas sees the flourishing of gag movies with no plot like "Christmas in XXX" (exchange XXX with New York, India or Egypt) and other lousy movies as the new "Olé". From this point of view "Commediasexi" is a good try to film a movie with good actors (Sergio Rubini above all) and interesting newcomers, like the "survivor-star" Elena Santarelli and the TV host Paolo Bonolis (who recalls the tics and voice of Italian comedy's master Alberto Sordi). The story is about the "moderate" deputy Bonfili (Paolo Bonolis)who is writing a new law about the family. He has a lovely wife (Stefania Rocca)and two children. His loyal chauffeur Mariano helps him trying to keep his relationship with a TV starlet (Elena Santarelli) secret. But how much can the deputy ask Mariano, to avoid a scandal? And if you get caught cheating, how will the people around you react? The answers aren't easy at all... D'Alatri (after the convincing "Casomai" with Stefania Rocca) does a good work, but the movie fails with a mediocre rhythm and an inconsistent plot, that leaves in the audience just the memory of good actors (Margherita Buy, Sergio Rubini and an enjoyable little role by Michele Placido) and a smile sometimes. The best scene involves Michele Placido and Stefania Rocca: the former mime a sexual act...filling a chicken with the stuffing, before putting it in the oven, and talking at the phone with the latter, who is in a french restaurant of "nouvelle cuisine" with his husband complaining about bad food. It's miles above the "cine-panettoni" we usually deal with at Christmas, but if you want to know what D'Alatri can do, go with "Casomai" and enjoy. What we have here is a a decent movie, but nothing more...