''My Friends'' ( it, Amici miei) is a 1975

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Mario Monicelli Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the '' Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). He was nominated six times for an Oscar, and was a ...

.New York Times
/ref> The film project belonged to

Pietro Germi Pietro Germi (; 14 September 1914 – 5 December 1974) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor, noted for his development of the neorealist and commedia all'Italiana genres. His 1961 film '' Divorce Italian Style'' earned him a ...

, who had no chance to make it happen because of his untimely death. The opening credits of the film, in fact, paid tribute to the author with the words "a film by Pietro Germi" which is followed only later by "directed by Mario Monicelli". The film, which made it to number one on the Italian box-office in front of

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

's ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

'', was followed by two sequels, ''

Amici miei Atto II ''All My Friends Part 2'' ( it, Amici miei Atto II) is a 1982 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli. It is the sequel to ''Amici miei'' of 1975. The movie features Paolo Stoppa in one of his last roles. The last chapter of this saga ...

'' (1982, also by Monicelli), '' Amici miei Atto III'' (1985), directed by

Nanni Loy Nanni Loy (born Giovanni Loi; 23 October 1925 – 21 August 1995) was an Italian film, theatre and TV director. Specifically, Nanni Loy was Sardinian, and one of several notable Sardinian film makers, including Franco Solinas. Biography Lo ...

Plot

Like in many other Monicelli movies, the main theme of ''Amici miei'' is friendship, seen from a rather bitter point of view. It tells the story of four middle-aged friends in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

who organize together idle pranks (called ''zingarate'', "gypsy shenanigans") in a continuous attempt to prolong childhood during their adult life. Count Mascetti (

Ugo Tognazzi Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...

) is an impoverished noble who has no means to support his family, but does not renounce high living pleasures anyway, and has an underage mistress, Titti (

Silvia Dionisio Silvia Dionisio (born 28 September 1951) is an Italian actress who appeared in several movies in the 1970s. Born in Rome, Dionisio made her debut in the world of cinema when she was only 14 years old in the movie ''Darling''. Her career followe ...

). Perozzi ( Philippe Noiret) is an easy-living journalist harassed by the unceasing disapproval of his wife and his son. Melandri (

Gastone Moschin Gastone Moschin (8 June 1929 – 4 September 2017) was an Italian stage, television and film actor. Career Born in San Giovanni Lupatoto (Veneto), Moschin graduated from the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico and then began ...

) is an architect employed by City Hall (for the preservation and restoration of the City's countless monuments), whose main goal is to find the ideal woman. Necchi (

Duilio Del Prete Duilio Del Prete (25 June 1938 – 2 February 1998) was an Italian actor, dubber and singer-songwriter. Del Prete was born at Cuneo, Piedmont. As a singer-songwriter, he wrote political songs and recorded an album of Jacques Brel's covers; he al ...

) is the owner of a café and pool hall where the friends usually plan their ''zingarate''. During the movie, they are joined by a renowned, military-like surgeon, professor Alfeo Sassaroli (

Adolfo Celi Adolfo Celi (; 27 July 1922 – 19 February 1986) was an Italian film actor and director. Born in Curcuraci, Messina, Sicily, Celi appeared in nearly 100 films, specialising in international villains. Although a prominent actor in Italian ...

), in whose clinic they recover after being hospitalized, injured after a mismanaged ''zingarata''. Melandri falls in love with Sassaroli's wife, exclaiming "I've seen the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

!", only to discover she has psychological problems. The plot is mostly composed of elaborate practical jokes organized by the friends, including the creation of a fake mafia mob (actually, from Marseille) in whose "criminal acts" they involve a pensioner, Righi (

Bernard Blier Bernard Blier (11 January 1916 – 29 March 1989) was a French character actor. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his father, a researcher at the Pasteur Institute, was posted at the time. Life and career His rotund features and ...

), who used to snatch croissants from the cake tray in Necchi's café, and Mascetti's attempts to save his marriage despite his relationship with Titti. The film ends with Perozzi's death, which still does not deprive his friends of their desecrating hijinks, not even in face of their own mortality. Instead, Perozzi's wife is skeptical at first, since she wonders if his death can actually be one of his pranks. Criticized by Melandri for her lack of tears, she comments: "One mourns if somebody dies. But here, nobody died". Mascetti replies: "Well, he wasn't somebody, but I liked him". During the funeral procession, they "pay homage" to their dead friend by telling the wide-eyed Righi that Perozzi was killed for being a traitor to their mafia. Melandri starts sobbing out of laughter, because Righi believed the hoax, while the other friends also break up. Righi, believing that they are heartbroken, is moved for real.

Cast

as Lello Mascetti *

as Rambaldo Melandri * Philippe Noiret as Giorgio Perozzi *

as Guido Necchi * Olga Karlatos as Donatella Sassaroli *

as Titti *

Franca Tamantini Franca Tamantini (24 August 1931 – 11 August 2014) was an Italian film, television and stage actress. Life and career Born in Rome, since young age Tamantini studied piano, singing and classical dance at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. In 19 ...

as Carmen Necchi *

Angela Goodwin Angela Goodwin (born Angela Bucci, 1 August 1925 – 25 March 2016), was an Italian stage, film and television actress. Life and career Born in Rome, Goodwin was the daughter of an Italian-American father, and spent her youth in the US where s ...

as Laura Perozzi *

Milena Vukotic Milena Vukotic (, ; born 23 April 1935) is an Italian former ballerina and a stage, television, and film actress. Biography Vukotic was born in Rome, to a Serb Montenegrin comedy playwright father and an Italian pianist/composer mother ...

as Alice Mascetti *

as Niccolò Righi *

as Professor Alfeo Sassaroli * Maurizio Scattorin as Luciano Perozzi (Perozzi's son)

Other

* The project was begun by

, who could not finish it due to his death. Monicelli, who replaced him, moved the set from

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

, as the filmmaker was raised in Tuscany (many of the ''zingarate'' illustrated in the movie were actually inspired by tricks and pranks played by Monicelli himself during his youth). * In the original version Philippe Noiret is dubbed by

Renzo Montagnani Renzo Montagnani (September 11, 1930 – May 22, 1997) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Montagnani was born in Alessandria, Piedmont, and debuted as theatre actor thanks to the help of Erminio Macario. His first cinema succe ...

, who, in the sequels, replaced Del Prete as Necchi. * One of the most popular scenes is that in which the four friends, to raise Melandri's mood after his falling out with Sassaroli's ex-wife, organize a ''zingarata'' consisting of slapping people's faces stretching out from the windows of a leaving train. One of the victims is Perozzi's son. * The film was shot in Florence and its center was a real bar in Piazza Demidoff, along the

River Arno The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a s ...

, which was named "Bar Amici Miei" and featured posters of the film. In the 1990s the bar changed its name and was modernized becoming an American bar and losing all connections to the film.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:My Friends 1975 films 1970s Italian-language films 1975 comedy-drama films Commedia all'italiana Films directed by Mario Monicelli Films scored by Carlo Rustichelli Films set in Florence 1975 comedy films 1975 drama films Midlife crisis films 1970s Italian films