THE ICICLE THIEF
A film review by Jim Pellmann
Copyright 1990 Jim Pellmann
One of the most entertaining and imaginative movies I've seen in a quite a while. This is an Italian comedy which slickly combines a spoof of television with an homage to the 1949 classic Italian movie THE BICYCLE THIEF.
There are several stories intertwined:
1) The story of a film director (played by Maurizio Nichetti, who also wrote and directed) whose dramatic film called "The Icicle Thief" is being shown on television. The film starts out as he arrives at the TV studio to be interviewed by a pompous film critic before the film is to be shown. The behind-the-scenes antics at the studio are almost slapstick.
2) As the movie starts to be shown on the TV station, we switch to it and watch the beginning of what seems to be a typical Italian post-World War II tear-jerker about a man (also played by Nichetti) who can't find a job, his starstruck wife, their small son who has to work in a gas station to help support the family, and a baby who's constantly ignored while he narrowly avoids one disaster after another (a running gag throughout the movie).
3) We also see a bickering family at home watching TV as the movie comes on. The very pregnant mother watches the movie and gives running commentary on it to her husband (also played by Nichetti) who tries to ignore her, and to her son who is slowly building a megalopolis out of Lego blocks (another running gag).
At the most melodramatic points in the story, the movie is interrupted for some inane (but hilarious) commercials. As the director gets more and more outraged at the way the TV station is destroying his masterwork, the commercials seem to come even faster.
We switch back and forth between the movie, the commercials, the studio, and the living room, and before we know it, the characters from the commercials start interacting with the characters from the movie. It doesn't take long until the characters in the movie are dealing with all new problems introduced by the commercial, and vice versa. The director, watches in horror as a whole new plot unfolds before his eyes, and before long, he too enters the action of the movie to try to get it back on course.
This is a movie made with intelligence, care, and wit. There are many clever touches and special effects as the characters interact. Pay attention to all the details or you'll miss some of the gags. If you're sick of gangster movies, check this out. Highest recommendation.
Postscript: After this movie played in Italy, the government passed a law limiting the number of commercial interruptions in movies broadcast on TV!
-- Jim Pellmann (jpellmann@rational.com) RATIONAL Santa Clara, California
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