Smetto quando voglio

I'll just keep this to a fairly brief synopsis and let you know that the film pretty much has it all. Extremely funny/likeable characters, excellent plot/story-line, a lot of dark and light humour, just enough violence to make things realistic, all mixed together into an extremely enjoyable couple of hours. I didn't want the film to end, to tell you the truth.

What a concept - a bunch of ex-University professors i.e. intellectual nerds - stumble upon a way to make money by inventing a new drug molecule that is not on the illegal list in Italy. Through their combined biological/historical/mathematical knowledge, they happen to make one of the most sought after 'smart drugs' on the market. But of course things get very complicated and go south very quickly.

I'll leave it at that, but you will absolutely love the ride. Again, a brilliant effort and one of the best movies I've seen in a while.

Did this come on the wave of Breaking Bad? Yes it did. And still I appreciated the movie and it surely includes some witty parts. The presentation of the characters at the beginning is hilarious, sad and funny at the same time, relatable for a lot of young Italians that found themselves in the same situation in the past 10/20 years.

This must be the best Italian comedy of the last few years... Authentic and thought-provoking portrait of the socioeconomic impasse of that wonderful country and its newest generation of "adults". Hysterical gags and great acting. At long last, Italy reconnects with its greatest form of art - laughing at its own miseries and the whimsical ways they require to be overcome. "L'arte di arrangiarsi" (the art of getting by) over a draconian, timeless, ever-obstructing, complacently ignorant State will never cease to gift every generation with the Italian art of David and Goliath storytelling. Brilliant script, great technical quality..a must see!

A film that innovates, finally after stale years, the Italian comedy genre, bringing into focus the up-to-date themes of drugs and the alleged uselessness of a college degree in Italy.

A group of old friends, former university professors, unite to produce a new type of legal drug: each one, with his knowledge, contributes to the success of the plan; carried out, it turns their boring lives around out of the blue.

Fast-paced and enjoyable, ''Smetto quando voglio'' succeeds, with an exceptional cast, in the arduous task of reconciling the crime and comedy genres, without coming across as the usual trash "cinepanettone". However, there is no shortage of clichés, the music is not the best and in the end the plot is not that innovative, leaving aside the aforementioned premise.

It remains a great film, which is quickly watched and which entertains and amuses, with a project that should definitely be seen more in Italy.

Others have pointed out at all the different, and actually quite legitimate, inspirations from Breaking Bad to La banda degli onesti, etc.

What I see here is a caustic condemnation for a system which wastes young brains in a corrupt, inefficient loop of despair.

It is sad but unfortunately true that some are overprotected while others have to struggle endlessly.

The final scene is quite subdued but could have been exploited in a more dramatic way.

While I was reluctant to watch it, fearing the usual unpleasant onslaught of so-called New Italian Comedy, I'm glad I finally did. And can recommend it if you like the bittersweet bite of social critique with a few interspersed gags.