Fantozzi (film)

Fantozzi
Directed by Luciano Salce
Produced by Giovanni Bertolucci
Written by Paolo Villaggio, Leo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Luciano Salce
Starring Paolo Villaggio
Gigi Reder
Liù Bosisio
Anna Mazzamauro
Music by Fabio Frizzi
Cinematography Erico Menczer
Edited by Amedeo Salfa
Distributed by Cineriz
Release dates
 1975
Running time
 103 min.
Language Italian

Fantozzi is a 1975 cult Italian comedy movie. It is the first film in the saga of the unlucky Italian clerk Ugo Fantozzi, played by its creator, Paolo Villaggio.

Along with following Il secondo tragico Fantozzi, is considered the pinnacle of the series and it shows the involvement of actors who are likely to come into comic episodes: Plinio Fernando, Anna Mazzamauro and Gigi Reder, among others. Fantozzi can be seen as symbol of the Italian middle class of the 70's, unhappy and frustrated at work and with family.

The success of this film and the saga that has generated has remained virtually unchanged through the years, contributing to credit Paolo Villaggio as one of the principal authors of comic films and actors of Italian cinema.The film was released on Italian cinemas on 27 March 1975.

The song of the closing credits, La ballata di Fantozzi, written by Leo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi and Fabio Frizzi, is sung by Paolo Villaggio.

Plot

The movie starts with Pina, Ugo Fantozzi's wife, calling the "ItalOilEdilThermoTextilPharmMetalChemical" industry, where her husband works, asking to see if her husband is still there, since she has not had any news about him for 18 days. They will find out that, for some reason, Fantozzi got stuck inside the sealed walls of the industry's old bathrooms.

Getting to work

In order to get to punch his badge precisely at the 08.30 entry, Fantozzi, 16 years ago, began by setting the alarm clock at a quarter past six. Today, by dint of experiments and continuous improvements, he has managed to set it at 07:51... that is, the limit of what is humanly possible... Everything is calculated on the edge of the second: Five seconds to regain consciousness; Four seconds to overcome the daily impact with the sight of his wife, plus six more to ask the yet-unanswered question, "What could have possibly pushed him one day to marry that peculiar kind of domestic pet?"; Three seconds to drink Mrs Fantozzi's damned coffee: 3000 degrees Fahrenheit! From eight to ten seconds to cool down the hot tongue under the tap, Two and a half seconds to kiss his daughter Mariangela; Coffee with simultaneous combing, brushing [with] minty toothpaste over the flavour of coffee, resulting in physiological awakening... allowing him to perform in the time of six seconds flat, European value; He still has a budget of three minutes to get dressed and run to the stop for the 08:01 bus.

All of this is possible, of course, only without tragic unforeseen circumstances...

— Fantozzi's narrator voice.

The first episode show the getting of Fantozzi to office. Fantozzi, due to late because of a "tragic unforeseen" (as the breaking of shoelaces) he decide to catch the bus "from above" by jumping from the balcony and gripping race in full up to capacity, sliding off the edge all the passengers, who then chase him to try to beat him. He will make it, but he will end up making all the passenger which are already on the bus fall out. He will finally reach his office (on an ambulance) in time, but he will faint after reaching the stamping machine.

Mrs Silvani

In the second episode, Fantozzi goes at the funeral of the mega-president of the industry ("died prematurely at the young age of 126 years") After the funeral, Fantozzi asks to Miss Silvani if she would like to go out and get a drink with him. She accepts but she will end up causing troubles to him, by insulting some rude drivers who were next to them. They will beat up Fantozzi, since they think it is immoral to punch a woman. He'll end up having his car destroyed.

Football match

In third episode, Fantozzi plays in the football match organized by Filini between singles and married. The match is disputed on the worst field and the players are followed by the respective "clerk cloud", clouds that methodically rain on the clerks when they're on holiday. After two autogols by Fantozzi and his mirage (he see St.Peter on the goal), the match will end up being cancelled due to torrential rain turning the playing field into a swamp. The previously match was win by married for 3 heart attacked to 2 drowned...

Camping

In fourth episode, Filini convinced Fantozzi to buy a small motor boat, so the two go on a camping trip near a lake, but first of two police motorcyclists to receive no less than 100 basis lashes each for having wet "the Minister of Petroleum" from an unspecified Arab country on the boat with water discharged from Fantozzi's clerk cloud during the trip. Because of this little "mishap" the two arrive in camp late at night, where they are rebuked by a group of German tourists because they make too much noise downloading tent poles. In an attempt to pitch a tent, planting stakes, Filini pounds unintentionally (in part because of his almost total blindness) twice a finger Fantozzi, forcing him to avoid further reprimands by the Germans, to get away for more than a mile to make a monstrous pain scream. The morning after clumsily trying to fish, eliciting laughter of the tourists come from Germany. During the fishing trip, pulling the power cord of the motor boat, Filini thrown into the water and then Fantozzi make the same with Filini. Following Fantozzi throws first in the lake the engine of the boat is sinking, and then planting in the hull in the water on a flag pole that was intended as a sail. Then they hire a rowing boat with two tons, but by taking a running start to throw the barrel, the lines get tangled and the two are linked at the bottom of the boat. During the day, the heat, they begin to hallucinate: Filini feels like Ulysses and the sirens Fantozzi is kept to her style, "mystical hallucinations" (Jesus walking on the water wondering if we are to multiply bread and fish and complains because the two employees do not have). Very thirsty and dehydrated, the two are also used to be mocked by the cloud that drains the water a few inches from the boat.

Christmas

In fifth episode, all the company employees' children have to go to the director's office and tell a poem they made up for Christmas. Fantozzi's daughter (Mariangela, "Cheetah the monkey!!"), despite creating a very original poem, will get insulted and made fun of, cause of her terrible ugliness. Fantozzi, realizing what is happening, storms in and just by looking at his supposed "superiors" manages to make them stare down in shame. After wishing them "merry christmas and happy new year" in a scathing tone he leads his daughter away. When she asks him why the people were calling her "Cita" (the Italian rendition of Cheeta's name, Tarzan's pet monkey) he tells her a white lie pretending they were actually comparing her to "Cita Hayworth". This is one of the few episodes where we see the human and moral stature of Fantozzi.

Happy New Year

Sixth episode. It is New Year's Eve, and Fantozzi goes to a New Year's Eve party with his colleagues. Everything is a disaster: the waiter throws every plate over Fantozzi's dress, he falls through a window during the dance and the band leader rigs the clock (cause he has to go to another party) and runs away at half past ten. At midnight, someone throws a heavy cooking machine over Fantozzi's car, destroying it.

Snooker match

Seventh episode. The new director of Fantozzi's office is the Honorable Cavalier Earl Diego Catellani, Great Master of Commendation Office. He promotes employees who lose a billiard match with him, so Fantozzi's wife asks his husband if he could try, in order to make some career; Fantozzi attends some lessons from a night watchman, and accepts Catellani's challenge. He's almost having success (losing 49-2), but after Catellani insults him for the 38th time, he begins a series of extraordinary shots, winning 51-49. Catellani's reaction is violent, so Fantozzi abducts his old mother and escapes.

The Tennis

Eighth episode. Fantozzi and Filini are playing tennis, at 6 AM, in a cold and foggy day. The match results in a disaster, with Fantozzi knocking himself with his pre-industrial tennis racket and Filini fainting after breaking the net.

Dining at Japanese restaurant

Ninth episode. Fantozzi invites Miss Silvani for a dinner in a Japanese restaurant where, for a misunderstanding with a waiter, Miss Silvani's dog is cooked and served as a dish. At the end, his "hacked" suite dress, which slimmed down his fatness, explodes.

The trip

Tenth episode. To reconpense Silvani for her dog, Fantozzi is constricted to go with Calboni and her go to Courmayeur for holidays. For the great cold and Calboni's "monstrous lies", Fantozzi is victim of "competitive allucinations" and says he's been a national lever skier (but also he's not skiing from 35 years). Invited to a party, Fantozzi, after drinking two litres of beer, explodes in a powerful burp, which creates an avalanche. After a disastrous skiing session using archaic wooden ski set, returning at the hotel, Fantozzi listens to Calboni and Miss Silvani make love.

The Galactic Megedirector

Last episode. Fantozzi's frustration after knowing about the love affair between Calboni and Miss Silvani leads him to ask for being moved to another office. His new colleague, Folagra, is a Communist who manages to convince him to revolt. So, Fantozzi throws a brick into one of windows of Megaditta, destroying it. The Galactic Mega-Director Duke Earl Balabam invites him in this office: while ascending in the lift, Fantozzi has a punitive hallucination (he sees himself crucified in the canteen room). After some talking with Balabam about politics (Duke Earl defines himself an "average progressive"), Fantozzi returns to be the docile employee he was before. Balabam then shows his office to him, revealing that all "myths & legends" gossips spread by employees are factually true: his chair is made of human leather, and the "aquarium of good employees" really exists. All is forgiven to Fantozzi, who has the "honour" of being in the aquarium in the role of a mullet.

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