This lighthearted comedy by Mario Monicelli explores several different families existing in Italy during the mid-1950s. The film mainly focuses on two teenagers in love, Marcella Corallo (played by a very young Lorella De Luca) and Sandro Bacci, but whose love is forbidden by their fathers. Marcella's father. Marcella's father is Vincenzo Corallo played by the legendary director Vittorio De Sica who is a somewhat strict but sweet father and widower who has the downside of not taking his daughter very seriously.
His character is countered by Sandro's father, Dr. Vittorio Bacci, who is a very strict and severe type of father who prefers more old-fashioned punishment for his children (such as making Sandro eat dinner alone in his room) compared to more affectionate approaches.
There are also other characters played by Franco Interlenghi and Antonella Lualdi who play newlyweds (and happened to be married to each other in real life). Lualdi's character is heavily pregnant and fretful which causes her husband to run about town to buy very specific items for her to assuage her mood swings.
There is also Ines the nurse, played by Marisa Merlini, who is married to a zookeeper and has an impressive bundle of young and rambunctious children to take care of.
A very young Marcello Mastroianni also makes an appearance as a woeful married man named Cesare who is depressed because he and his wife Rita (the sister of Ines) have been unable to have a baby which is something that he wanted more than anything. However, Ines at some point decides to entrust one of her sons to Rita and Cesare so that he will avoid getting sick at home since the rest of her children are sick with the measles.
This starts a very endearing sequence of events between the little boy and Cesare who usually eats alone in the middle of the night after a long shift working at the local airport. The two start to bond and Cesare realizes that even if he and his wife can't have a child naturally that they can still adopt.
Meanwhile, Marcella and Sandro's teenage romance continues to be forbidden by their fathers to the extent that Marcella is locked in her room to be kept from Sandro. At a certain point, however, her father realizes that she is no longer a little girl but instead a young woman. For that reason, he finally allows her to be with Sandro and Sandro's father eventually agrees, although he takes a lot more convincing.
This is a very sweet and amusing comedy. At the same time, the film does tackle some more serious issues such as infertility and the responsibility that fathers of that time had to enact over their children. There are some very amusing and sweet moments with Mastroianni's character as well as De Sica's character, respectively, which really bring the film to life.
Overall, this is a very feel-good sort of movie that explores what families were like in Italy during the 50s. This is really a great movie to watch if you ever need something to boost your mood.
His character is countered by Sandro's father, Dr. Vittorio Bacci, who is a very strict and severe type of father who prefers more old-fashioned punishment for his children (such as making Sandro eat dinner alone in his room) compared to more affectionate approaches.
There are also other characters played by Franco Interlenghi and Antonella Lualdi who play newlyweds (and happened to be married to each other in real life). Lualdi's character is heavily pregnant and fretful which causes her husband to run about town to buy very specific items for her to assuage her mood swings.
There is also Ines the nurse, played by Marisa Merlini, who is married to a zookeeper and has an impressive bundle of young and rambunctious children to take care of.
A very young Marcello Mastroianni also makes an appearance as a woeful married man named Cesare who is depressed because he and his wife Rita (the sister of Ines) have been unable to have a baby which is something that he wanted more than anything. However, Ines at some point decides to entrust one of her sons to Rita and Cesare so that he will avoid getting sick at home since the rest of her children are sick with the measles.
This starts a very endearing sequence of events between the little boy and Cesare who usually eats alone in the middle of the night after a long shift working at the local airport. The two start to bond and Cesare realizes that even if he and his wife can't have a child naturally that they can still adopt.
Meanwhile, Marcella and Sandro's teenage romance continues to be forbidden by their fathers to the extent that Marcella is locked in her room to be kept from Sandro. At a certain point, however, her father realizes that she is no longer a little girl but instead a young woman. For that reason, he finally allows her to be with Sandro and Sandro's father eventually agrees, although he takes a lot more convincing.
This is a very sweet and amusing comedy. At the same time, the film does tackle some more serious issues such as infertility and the responsibility that fathers of that time had to enact over their children. There are some very amusing and sweet moments with Mastroianni's character as well as De Sica's character, respectively, which really bring the film to life.
Overall, this is a very feel-good sort of movie that explores what families were like in Italy during the 50s. This is really a great movie to watch if you ever need something to boost your mood.