Smetto Quando Voglio is a film that is a well-done comedy. The first and foremost goal of any piece of comedic media should be to make people laugh, which the movie (at least for me) was able to do multiple times. A comedy cannot be a comedy without being funny and making people laugh. Second to the goal of making people laugh is to address and uncomfortable topic in a funny way. Comedies are great because they make us laugh and excuse us from reality, even for just a little while. But the real beauty in comedy is the ability to address uncomfortable topics that would otherwise not be discussed. Through comedy, people from all sorts of backgrounds and political views are able to come together over humor about many topics. In the case of Smetto Quando Voglio, the film tackles the topic of brain drain (academics leaving en masse to find better jobs because academic positions aren't readily available in their own country) in Italy. This is a real problem that plagues Italian society in which there are academics that go through many years of specialized education, but after finishing said education no jobs that match the skill set they developed await them. So, as a result, they leave the country to find jobs that do match their skill set because if they don't they will be forced to work unskilled labor for menial pay while they have impressive degrees. The film tackles this issue by having these out-of-work professors form a gang to produce and sell drugs so that they can make money. The main characters are all quirky nerdy professors, yet they now live a lifestyle where they run drugs, have hookers, buy sports cars etc., so there is comedic value in the film, but it adds comedy while still maintaining the undertone that, while this movie is funny, the problem it's based on is real. The movie also adds in little bits of irony centered around the main issue of brain drain throughout the film, like when it's revealed that Murena, who is supposedly a hardened bad guy, is also a highly educated person that could not find other work in Italy. The film ends with our main character in jail for selling drugs, but he wants to stay in jail because he has a steady income teaching to other inmates, thus ending the film on an ironic note (still on topic with the main issue), leaving the viewer to really think about the issue at hand.
Comments
Post a Comment