Die Troublemaker

The story and the acting are up to the Trinity standard, but whose voice did they use for Bud Spencer? Far from the grainy growl supplied in Trinity, the big man sounds like a chipmunk in Troublemakers. Really distracting.

If you are a fan of the 1972/1973 Trinity movies, you will enjoy this later release as a sort of bittersweet reunion of the two actors in a similar western. If you have no history with the originals, I highly recommend you pick up the Trinity movies first. The Troublemakers is very hard to find in the US but can usually be found on ebay (VHS). I only wish they had done My Name is Nobody with Bud Spencer instead of Henry Fonda-- that's how essential Bud Spencer is to the team.

Estranged brothers Terence Hill and Bud Spencer go to visit their mother, Ruth Buzzi, for Christmas. For fans of slapstick, this violent pair is always a pleasure. Although this isn't the most neatly written movie ever -- the script is by Hill's son Jess -- it's a pleasure watch these two wrangle on screen and beat up other people in their individual styles: raw, violent slapstick can be funny.

It's the last of eighteen films Hill & Spencer starred in together. I'm sure they could have continued it for a few more movies, but Hill is looking a bit old, and Spencer is definitely fat rather than simply enormous. It's hard to believe he was a professional swimmer in his younger days. Also a lawyer and chemist who held several patents. He died in 2016 at the age of 86.

Great, tragic actor Helmut Berger once said about aging and loosing his good looks: "I'm sorry that I had to grow old. If I knew it meant so much to you, I would have died younger."

Watching this movie is like attending a high-school reunion after 15-odd years: yeah, it's a happy occasion but at the same time odd and (despite we usually don't want to admit it to ourselves) a tad bit depressing. Good to see the old faces and see that they've been doing well – at the same time, many haven't aged that well and you discover, that you no longer share the same interests with your former best buddies. It's not only that Spencer and Hill got older but the chemistry has changed to a point where the old 'vibe' can no longer be replicated.

I was looking forward to seeing this film as much as I was afraid of it. Not because Spencer and Hill had aged but rather because I had been rather disappointed with their prior solo work in the late 80's and early 90's. Spencer had almost become a parody of himself with TV works like "Noi Siamo Angeli" and "Extralarge" while I was less than impressed with Hills "Renegade" and version(s) of "Lucky Luke". After all, kids from my generation here in Germany grew up with the original "Trinity"-films, mostly knowing most lines by heart and replicating them in the schoolyard (that and the fight-scenes, which often led to some rather painful situations, but that is another story). Some even made it a tradition to eat cook up tins of beans during the TV-reruns, just in time for the notorious eating-scenes.

In its defense, "The Troublemakers" by itself isn't a bad film. It's slower, less light-hearted and misses the direction of seasoned hands like E.B Clucher or Michele Lupo. Like a rock-band from the 70's playing a reunion-gig, they still know their moves and tunes, but the movement is no longer as graceful, the show is no longer as innovative (and certainly don't expect any new hit-songs). Sure, I'd watch a rerun of "The Troublemakers" on TV, but I certainly wouldn't watch it in a row with the "Trinity"-films.

A couple of years ago there were rumors about Bud and Terence getting together one more time for a variation on the Jeckyll & Hyde theme. The project apparently fell through and is now in nirvana. Even as a loyal, seasoned fan, I'm not ashamed to say: "Maybe for the better." Best to leave the party at the zenith, not when the party is fading out already.

5/5 (and don't think that I didn't wish I could give it more)

Terence Hill, who also directed, and Bud Spenser are both in fine form in "The Fight Before Christmas" (that's the title under which I saw this movie). The movie looks great and has a good, if not so original, story. Hill and Spenser's supporting cast has quite a few familiar faces in it. You can't beat Ruth Buzzi as the boys mother. My only gripe against "The Fight Before Christmas" has to with its length. It's too long by about twenty minutes. Closing in on two hours is way too long for a silly movie like this. Even though this a silly movie, I laughed quite a few times. (I saw this movie on Youtube.)

It's a pretty weird experience, watching this movie. An affectionate, warm-hearted reunion for Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, it is also a bittersweet farewell to an old era of movies. It will probably appeal only to fans of the duo, as they once again go through their familiar motions (Spencer's mutterings, Hill's smiles, bean-eating, fist-fighting, helping the poor, etc.), only this time there are some serious dramatic moments as well. On the other hand, considering their age, you can't help but wonder if perhaps this film should never have been made, if they should have retired more gracefully a few years earlier. But if you insist on seeing it, try to avoid the DVD version, as the image has been blown up way out of proportion to fill the entire screen - perhaps in keeping with the tradition of the awful full-screen versions of the "Trinity" films (to which this film is without a doubt an unofficial sequel - I wonder why they couldn't make it "official"). (**)