Il pranzo della domenica

"Il Pranzo della Domenica" is one of the Vanzina brothers more quiet comedies. It gives a fairly credible depiction of the upper middle class in today's Rome, at the beginning of the third millennium. It reminds similar Italian comedies from the 1950's, and its main asset lies in the cast. All the actors and actresses are in fact very good and credible in their respective roles. Giovanna Ralli as the well-off widow and matriarch, Massimo Ghini as the womanizing divorce lawyer, Rocco Papaleo as the left-wing journalist full of principles, Elena Sofia Ricci as his wiser wife and Maurizio Mattioli as the amiable right-wing florist. Galatea Ranzi and Barbara De Rossi completes the cast as Ralli's other two daughters. Not really a film to remember, but fun if you know modern Rome.

Very entertaining light comedy, where we can follow the lives of three middle upper class roman sisters, their overwhelming mother and respective husbands and lovers.

It has been done a trillion times before. The commanding mother (an incredibly well preserved 68 years old Giovanna Ralli) will have them all every Sunday for lunch at her widow's home; as they enter the apartment she warmly welcomes each daughter, son in law, niece, etc. and must make a friendly-naughty personal comment to each one.

She intensely dislikes when someone arrives late for the appointment (the so laboriously prepared food will get cold).

Within this setting we start getting glimpses of everyone's personal problems. One sister: Her husband looses every job he gets because he talks too much about politics from the wrong point of view, and always in front of the wrong person.

She's desperate because there's no money to pay their debts with.

Next sister: Her husband loves her very much (and she loves him), but she suffers from depression (this couple has the funniest scene in the movie when they decide to make love and once in bed they have to struggle with the man's heart monitor contraption and plastic tubes, stuck to his chest and lower parts with long pieces of medical tape applied by his doctor).

The third sister, a sales person at a high price fashion establishment has problems with her Casanova husband, etc. The situations are presented, developed and ended in a very clear fashion, all of them have a final explanation --including the mother of them all-- but all the time we have the feeling of watching a soap opera.

Nicely entertaining, like watching multicolored soap bubbles floating around under the sun on a clear day.