''Un sacco bello'', internationally released as ''Fun Is Beautiful'', is a 1980 Italian

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

. The film, produced by

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone ( ; ; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian filmmaker, credited as the pioneer of the spaghetti Western genre. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Leone's film-making style ...

, marked the directorial debut of Carlo Verdone, as well his debut as main actor and as screenwriter. For this film Verdone won a special David di Donatello Awards and the

Nastro d'Argento The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...

for best new actor.

Plot

Carlo Verdone plays three roles in three episodes joined together. In the first, the Roman hick Enzo organizes a trip to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

for

Ferragosto ''Ferragosto'' is a public holiday celebrated on 15 August in all of Italy. It originates from ''Feriae Augusti'', the festival of Augustus, Emperor Augustus, who made 1 August a day of rest after weeks of hard work on the agricultural sector. ...

, hoping to ingratiate himself with the sexual favors of some beautiful Polish girl with the help of a generous supply of

nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

stocking Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transpar ...

s (in those years considered a luxury commodity in countries behind the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

). In the second episode, the post-

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

Ruggero by some days in his native Rome, while at the traffic light distributing leaflets and asking for an offer of money for a new commune that his group is forming in Citta della Pieve, meets his father ( Mario Brega) by chance, in the middle of traffic. His father believes that the guy has psychological problems, and so he asks the help of a priest, a teacher and a very problematic nephew. Mr. Mario then is going to change the mentality of the guy with the help of these wise people, in the hope that Ruggero and his girlfriend (who is also a

flower child Flower child originated as a synonym for Hippie, ''hippie'', especially among the idealistic young people who gathered in San Francisco and the surrounding area during the Summer of Love in 1967. It was the custom of "flower children" to wear a ...

) find themselves the right way to live in a modern society. Finally the shy and awkward Leo find the love in a Spanish girl, but she gives him a lot of problems. In fact she is not alone and intends to recover an affair with her ex.

Cast

* Carlo Verdone: Enzo/ Ruggero/ Leo/ Don Alfio/ Anselmo/ professor * Mario Brega: Mario * Renato Scarpa: Sergio * Veronica Miriel: Marisol * Isabella De Bernardi: Fiorenza * Sandro Ghiani: Cristiano

References

External links

* 1980 films Italian comedy films Films directed by Carlo Verdone 1980 comedy films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films produced by Sergio Leone 1980 directorial debut films 1980s Italian-language films 1980s Italian films {{1980s-Italy-comedy-film-stub