Yet another spoof rendition of Nero's reign, now in a revue-style approach and featuring both veteran and up-and-coming comic stars: among the former are Aldo Fabrizi as the ageing sleepy-eyed Roman General, also perennially suffering from constipation, ostensibly leading the insurrection against the proverbial mad Emperor, and Paolo Stoppa as an incongruously conniving Saint Peter!; the latter, then, include a none-too-memorable Pippo Franco (nowadays reduced to hosting variety shows on prime-time TV!) in the title role, Enrico Montesano as a dandy-ish entertainer in the latter's service, Gianfranco D'Angelo as a literally iron-fisted General, and "Bombolo" (best-known as Tomas Milian's foil when donning the popular, but decidedly unflattering, guise of "Monnezza") as a patrician-cum-charioteer.
The tone is as predictably bawdy (fashionably reflected even in the set design!) as the overall effect is hit-and-miss (such "anything goes" ventures invariably are): we get an abundance of gratuitous nudity from the actresses (including the aged one playing Agrippina, thus serving the Oedipal complex inherent in her relationship with the Emperor!) – which rather exposes, no pun intended, how much their respective fortunes had fallen in the space of a mere decade – and, for its funniest (if hardly ever inspired) bits, one need perhaps refer to the predictably chaotic – yet typically unproductive – Senate meetings. I am not familiar with the two directors' names (and other work), but it goes without saying that they do not seem overly fond of their country's glorious, albeit controversial, heritage...
