Carlo Vanzina Movies

This Italian comic fantasy about time travel begins with Ascanio (Christian de Sica), an Italian nobleman, and Walter (Massimo Boldi) a film executive, also Italian, on a deluxe tour of Universal Studios. They sit down side-by-side and are hooked into a virtual reality machine by its inventor, Professor Mortimer (Dean Jones). When something goes wrong, they find themselves hopping around in time, again and again narrowly escaping death. Their first travel takes them to prehistoric times. Then they find themselves in Renaissance Florence under the watchful eye of Lorenzo de Medici, who is highly amused by Ascanio's soccer moves. Narrowly escaping the Inquisition, they jump centuries in time to Venice in the time of Casanova, where their efforts at a romantic liaison with some of Casanova's women are thwarted. In one of the film's highlights, Ascanio jumps into his own past, and attempts to change his personal future. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This take-off on the soccer mania that is a part of Italian life centers on the comic presence of its star Diego Abatantuono who plays three different lead roles in the three "acts" that make up the film. In the first story, Donato (Abatantuono) is an out-of-work southerner trying to find his way in the north when he gets into disagreements with a bunch of soccer fans that are against his own, native team. In the next skit, Franco Abatantuono deserts his family, his home, his wife -- everyone -- when he finds out he has won the soccer lottery (he guessed the winning team), and he goes to celebrate at the most expensive hotel he can find. His celebrations are cut short, however, when his friends show up with some unexpected news. In the last story, Abatantuono plays Tirzan, a truck driver who borrows a truck from a friend to be able to get to a big match in Belgium, and then his borrowed truck is stolen in Paris -- should he try to make the match anyway? With Abatantuono's natural ability to chew up northern Italian with a southern dialect, the comic characters take on additional comedic dimensions. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The dialogue and content in this film about gangs and their internal turmoil are geared to a young, teenage audience. The setting is Milan, and four brothers from the south of Italy have lined up against the local gang. The southerners are headed by Felice (Diego Abatantuono), the eldest of the brothers, a braggadocio who is overly-protective of his younger sister Giulietta (Simona Mariani) -- but then he has to be, since the brothers and one sister have no father to care for them. Of course, Giulietta has a mind of her own and when she meets the leader of the rival gang, romantic sparks fly. Felice will have none of this heresy, and so a battle of wills begins between brother and sister that may resolve more than just her love life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This Italian heist-comedy movie is a revision of Mario Monicelli's 1958 film Big Deal on Madonna Street. This version is set in modern Milan. TV technicians Fabio and Enzo have been unable to find decent jobs. They decide to crack a safe at a Tony Milan jewelry store instead. To help them they enlist a beautiful but unsophisticated young woman to get the layout of the store. To help them find underground access to the store, they get help from a sewage worker. Finally to disarm the store alarms, they find an obese trapeze artist. A clever hotelier is also involved. Will they succeed? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Originally titled simply Decimo Clandestino, this Lina Wertmuller "miniature" began life as an Italian TV drama. Piera Degli Esposti plays the widowed, impoverished mother of a huge farm family. The woman moves her nine children to Bologna, where their living conditions are deplorable. To avoid a hike in rent, she tells her landlady (Dominique Sanda) that she is living alone. Also known as To Save Nine (a curiously brief English-language title for a Wertmuller film!), IL Decimo Clandestino was expanded from 60 to 90 minutes for its theatrical release. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This is a specialized, standard teen comedy set in a fast-food joint in Milano, featuring a series of skits and characters. The manager of the burger place loses his ethnic cooks and decides to make do with his brother-in-law and the restroom attendant. How difficult can it be to flip hamburgers? Meanwhile the customers and the neighborhood have their own stories to tell: two gangs fight it out, a waitress has a few adventures with the man she marries, and a delivery boy is mistaken for a professional photographer and joyously snaps shots of gorgeous models. None of the stories are particularly relevant to each other but they are energetic and upbeat. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

One of the heirs to a family fortune is willing to do anything to possess it, but finds his beautiful sister-in-law and cousin in the way. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Margherita (Carol Alt) is a wife and mother who decides to take a job as a fashion-show coordinator in this romantic drama. She discovers the tawdry truth of the inner workings of the Milan fashion industry and falls for the Italian heel Roberto (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), a move that nearly destroys her marriage. Renee Simonsen and Luca Barbareschi co-star with Marissa Berenson and Valentina Cortese in this vehicle that features beautiful fashion models in chic designer clothes. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this romantic fantasy, Liechtenhaus is one of those seldom-heard-of tiny European principalities. It is being ruled by Prince Max (David Warner), but the little country is nearly bankrupt. In fact, if he can't get an infusion of cash quickly, he may have to sell the royal palace to American developers as a casino complex. Fortunately, he's got a very pretty daughter, and the dowry he will get from marrying her off to the unappealing (but wealthy) heir to a similar nearby principality will more than get his tiny country in the clear. Unfortunately for him, his daughter, princess Sofia (Barbara Snellenburg), is adamant about refusing this arranged marriage, and prefers romance with a handsome but penniless windsurfing instructor (Raoul Bova) to saving her country. Nefarious schemes come forth and multiply, and when the princess is kidnapped, something must be done. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi