Firstly, I'd like to begin this review by stating that I feel this movie achieves its comedic purpose excellently. If we are operating under the premise that comedy can be funny for an educational purpose, as we had discussed after the end of the film, then this movie has certainly done an excellent job of using laughter to educate. Had it not been for this movie, the issue of researchers in Italy not receiving proper funding would not have gotten the publicity it has now. Despite its absurdist situations, as I find it unlikely that cash-strapped researchers would actually start a drug gang in order to relieve themselves of the pressures of their underpaid work, the desperation of Pietro and his friends' situation is what really drives the movie's point home: something has to be done to help the researchers who are not being paid, or they will turn to ulterior methods of moneymaking, or worse, they'll seek employment in other countries. This "Brain Drain" has left Italy devoid of academic advancement, and Smetto Quando Voglio is a humorous method of drawing attention to a very serious problem.
Furthermore, I wish to discuss a character who's inclusion in the film I felt helped advance the plot in a roundabout way- Maurizio. A young student whom Pietro tutors, Maurizio is actively stiffing his teacher, pretending to be poor while driving a Land Rover and going clubbing constantly. It is Maurizio's antics that lead Pietro to his original idea of starting a drug gang, having given him a spiked drink and causing his psychedelic adventure that gives him inspiration. At the end of the film, Maurizio is called in by Pietro to help him trick the drug gang he's gotten into trouble with, and it is Maurizio who hands their leader a champagne spiked with the last remaining dose of their drug that the gang had, thus tricking him into accepting the placebo pills. Maurizio, therefore, is indirectly responsible for both getting Pietro into the drug trade, and getting him out, demonstrating the intricacies of the film's writing.
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