The premise is enticing, and the actual feature is immediately charming and funny with no small amount of madcap energy. From its earliest moments 'Il lungo, il corto, il gatto' is terrifically entertaining, with fantastic comedy built on situational humor, miscommunication and misunderstandings, exaggerated characters, clever wordplay, and the like. I didn't entirely know what to expect when I began watching, but this is a true joy!
I can't say I'm familiar with stars Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia, but one glance at their credits illustrates their renown and long list of celebrated credits. The duo are exceptional in their comedic styling, playing off one another with the same magnificent, bombastic gusto as Abbott and Costello, or the Marx Brothers. Their superb range, physicality, and range of expression do much to build the humor throughout the movie, and I would love the opportunity to find more of their collaborations. Franco and Ciccio are hardly alone, though, as everyone in the large supporting cast brings their characters to life with vivid brilliance to help concoct the fun, including Ivy Holzer as a put-upon servant working alongside the central pair.
Some moments at the very beginning and very end are executed with a bit too much cartoonish flair for their own good, and the focused mix-up of coincidental language that forms the core of the latter half is constructed from passing dialogue that is rendered a bit carelessly. It's also worth nothing that if one isn't fluent in the Italian language (I'm not), then there will inevitably be jokes that are lost in translation, and subtitles are an imperfect substitution. Yet these are only minor indelicacies that do not meaningfully detract from what is otherwise a robustly funny, enjoyable picture. The screenplay is broadly a witty marvel, with exquisite, complex scene writing, and while the overall narrative is angled for amusement, the story being told is nonetheless engaging, and even compelling. It's also worth noting that the director of this cheerful farce is none other than Lucio Fulci, best known as a gore maestro of Italian horror. But I've yet to see a frightful Fulci flick that I've enjoyed - and I rather think that, certainly at least among those films of his that I've watched, 'Il lungo, il corto, il gatto' is actually by far the best. He illustrates an attention to detail, and mindfulness of shot composition, that means every subsequent scene is captured in the optimum fashion, and I genuinely like some of the camerawork here.
A minor content warning is necessary for suggested animal cruelty, but that rather comes with the territory. And while marginally rough around the edges, there is nothing about this movie that is so much of a flaw as to in any way significantly impact its quality. Keeping in mind a potential language barrier, this is otherwise such a strong, smartly made, silly and good-humored comedy that I'd be hard-pressed not to recommend it to just about anyone. 'Il lungo, il corto, il gatto' is a wonderful absorbing, lively romp that is worth watching wherever you may have the opportunity to do so.
Oh, and of course the cats are simple adorable!
