Johnny Stecchino review by Jeremy Lawrence
Johnny Stecchino is a delightfully funny piece of Italian film history, with flamboyant characters and American influences derived from such roots as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keatan and Woodie Allen. Although the jokes, for the most part are derived from Italian culture, their routes display common beliefs and experiences of all cultures. They play on the stereotypes of Italian culture perceived by the rest of the world. The main character Dante, played by Benigni, has a comedic and arrogant personality. He miraculously finds himself repeatedly in life threatening situations. However, he some how manages to get himself out unscathed, and due to his character the audience cannot help but laugh at his arrogance. This film displays master comedic work and the work of a brilliant framer using every inch of his presidium arch to set up and deliver the plethora of gags. Throughout the film each gag is set up primarily by setting a visual mood that allows the viewer to not only feel the joke at hand but also to live the joke. This allows the joke to run deeper into the viewer's knowledge and belief system. For instance, in the film Dante is preparing to snort a line of cocaine. Almost everyone on earth, who has watched films or television, knows what the white powder is and how the drug is used. In the stories, when Dante does not know what the powder is his uncle tells him that the powder is a drug to cure his diabetes. Through the film this knowledge is tested and the main character tries to pass the drug off as a cure for diabetes. Another of the new techniques used was that of editing as well as visuals to develop the 4 D's (Desire, Deception, Discovery, and destiny) of a traditional comedic structure to develop the comedic persona of all the gags and to tie all them together. In doing this Benigni used many traditional techniques of cross cutting and of cutting to show the action, not cutting to develop the act. Actually Benigni uses the long take, which, according to Charlie Chaplin are the way comedies are suppose to be shot, for example a shot that would normally be inter cut with close ups, such as the car in reverse gag. In the frame, Dante enters his bus and the audience is led to think that he will back up. As he turns to look at the camera in order to back up, the foliage can be scene through the window pressed closer to the camera. This makes it obvious that he is actually driving forward and not backing out and in the same shot Dante's expression draws us to his gaze without rack focusing (rabidly changing focus from one object to another). All of the visual and dialectical techniques demonstrate the comedic genius of Benigni. Although the jokes are not universal to all cultures, Benigni creates a mood of light comedy and intellectual triumph which in part explains the success of Johnny Stecchino.
Johnny Stecchino is a delightfully funny piece of Italian film history, with flamboyant characters and American influences derived from such roots as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keatan and Woodie Allen. Although the jokes, for the most part are derived from Italian culture, their routes display common beliefs and experiences of all cultures. They play on the stereotypes of Italian culture perceived by the rest of the world. The main character Dante, played by Benigni, has a comedic and arrogant personality. He miraculously finds himself repeatedly in life threatening situations. However, he some how manages to get himself out unscathed, and due to his character the audience cannot help but laugh at his arrogance. This film displays master comedic work and the work of a brilliant framer using every inch of his presidium arch to set up and deliver the plethora of gags. Throughout the film each gag is set up primarily by setting a visual mood that allows the viewer to not only feel the joke at hand but also to live the joke. This allows the joke to run deeper into the viewer's knowledge and belief system. For instance, in the film Dante is preparing to snort a line of cocaine. Almost everyone on earth, who has watched films or television, knows what the white powder is and how the drug is used. In the stories, when Dante does not know what the powder is his uncle tells him that the powder is a drug to cure his diabetes. Through the film this knowledge is tested and the main character tries to pass the drug off as a cure for diabetes. Another of the new techniques used was that of editing as well as visuals to develop the 4 D's (Desire, Deception, Discovery, and destiny) of a traditional comedic structure to develop the comedic persona of all the gags and to tie all them together. In doing this Benigni used many traditional techniques of cross cutting and of cutting to show the action, not cutting to develop the act. Actually Benigni uses the long take, which, according to Charlie Chaplin are the way comedies are suppose to be shot, for example a shot that would normally be inter cut with close ups, such as the car in reverse gag. In the frame, Dante enters his bus and the audience is led to think that he will back up. As he turns to look at the camera in order to back up, the foliage can be scene through the window pressed closer to the camera. This makes it obvious that he is actually driving forward and not backing out and in the same shot Dante's expression draws us to his gaze without rack focusing (rabidly changing focus from one object to another). All of the visual and dialectical techniques demonstrate the comedic genius of Benigni. Although the jokes are not universal to all cultures, Benigni creates a mood of light comedy and intellectual triumph which in part explains the success of Johnny Stecchino.