Super Fantozzi

The "Fantozzi" movie series is quite popular in Italy, but this fifth movie is really a forgettable one. The whole idea is to show how the Fantozzi family has lived as losers through time ever since the beginning of the world. This is done by showing a number of episodes: we see Fantozzi as a caveman, a Greek soldier, a crusader, a French revolutionary and more. Nothing wrong with it, but unfortunately most of the episodes are not so funny, and the movie is actually quite boring. Sure there are a number of funny episodes, but they are very few, too few actually to make the movie interesting. I don't know if these movies are shown outside of Italy (they are unknown here in the Netherlands, and I think I once saw one on German TV), but if you happen to find them, take a look at the first ones ("Fantozzi" and "Il secondo tragico Fantozzi") and leave this alone, you won't miss much...

The tragicomic misadventures of Italy's most unlucky accountant are back, this time over the centuries, from the creation of man in Eden to the super-technological future.

The idea, let's face it, is identical to that already used by Mel Brooks for his "History of the World - Part 1" (1981) and manages only partially to revitalize the Fantozzian series, already well 'squeezed' in its contemporary times in the previous films; here at least there is some gain thanks to the greater variety of settings, managing to propose some hilarious gags, alongside others that are less successful and / or already seen.

The lead actor Paolo Villaggio (author and creator of the character) remains the true comic engine of the film, but the result is still modest and the usual flat direction of Neri Parenti certainly does not help. On the other hand, Fred Bongusto's music is not bad.