Most American movie-goers will know of Roberto Benigni, but only from one film – the remarkably successful Best Foreign Film Life is Beautiful (1997). It earned Benigni the Academy Award for Best Actor and few who watched the award ceremony will forget Benigni tripping up the stairs or his bubbling acceptance speech. In Italy, Benigni is revered as the “Clown Prince” and known for much more than just La Vita e Bella (the Italian name of Life is Beautiful). His earlier film Il Monstro (“The Monster”) was very well received and Johnny Stechino (“Johnny Toothpick” in English) was the highest grossing film in Italian history until it was supplanted by La Vita e Bella. A few American viewers may also recognize Benigni from two Jim Jamusch films entitled Down By Law (1986) and Night on Earth (1992).

The Story: Roberto Benigni plays dual roles in this film. In the main role, he is Dante, an inept nice guy who drives a school bus for kids with Down Syndrome, entertaining them handsomely. He is kind to dogs but strikes out entirely with the fair sex. In an early scene, Dante is at a party where a gorgeous, voluptuous tempest of a woman confides to him how she was stood up by her boyfriend and, to get even, plans to sleep with every man in town. When he offers to take her home, she replies that she’d rather be alone. That, it seems, is poor Dante’s lot in life. He might as well be invisible to women.

Leaving the party, Dante is very nearly run down by a white sports car while crouching down to pet a stray dog. The driver of the car is another gorgeous woman, Maria (Nicoletta Braschi, who is Benigni’s wife in real life). She, at least, takes notice of him, which he interprets as love at first sight. She seems about to kiss him but faints instead.

Turns out, though, that what Maria found amazing about Dante is that he is a dead ringer for her husband – Johnny Toothpick. Johnny is a Sicilian hoodlum who has turned state witness (“repented” in the parlance of film) and is a marked man. Maria has come up with a creative plan to get her husband off the hook so that they can lead the high life in South America. She will pass off Dante as Johnny, await his inevitable murder, wail at the funeral, then fly off with Johnny Scot-free. All Dante needs is a mole added to his cheek via makeup and a toothpick hanging from his mouth and no one will know the difference.

Though Dante is a decent kind of guy, he does have a couple of foibles of his own. He prefers stealing bananas to paying for them and he is running an insurance disability scam involving a pronounced tremor (more like violent shaking) in his right hand.

Maria lures Dante to Palermo where he is soon the target of much interest. Out for a walk, he steals a banana from the fruit market just as a couple of thugs open fire on him. He, of course, attributes the fireworks to bananas having an especially high value in Palermo. The best of the humor in this film is of this type. Dante repeatedly misinterprets the meaning of what is happening around him and what is said to him. One running gag involves him observing a couple of characters snorting cocaine, but he’s told that it’s medicine for diabetes. Later, he offers some “medicine” to a diabetic Bishop and insists on helping him take it.

Obviously something has to give. Will Dante be liquidated? Will Maria fall for the goofy look-alike of her anal retentive husband? Check out the film for the outcome.

Is it Good Comedy? Well, I don’t know that I’m any better a judge of comedy than anyone else. I’m convinced that there’s just no accounting for what makes different people laugh. Among the half-dozen or so reviews and comments I read relating to this film, some raved about it while others were non-plussed. One reviewer calls the film a “belly-laugher” and states that “Roberto Begnini combines all the talent of the slapstick comedians who have made us laugh all these years.” Another says, “with his physical grace and utter commitment to even the dumbest of his gags, Benigni is more fun than a bucketful of gelato.” Another states that “Benigni can squeeze more laughs from a simple prop, in this case a banana, than any other comic in modern movies.” On the other hand, another reviewer puts this film “on about the same level as some of Jerry Lewis’ lesser works”, adding “a little of this goes a long way.” Another states, “Only a few mild chuckles relieve the tedium.”

My own reaction to the film was kind of middling. It didn’t evoke a single full-fledged laugh from me but it was entertaining and amusing. Nothing special but not a total waste of time. As a reference point for readers, I like the humor of Pierre Richard, Peter Sellers, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Dana Carvey (when he was on SNL), Jerry Seinfeld, and Mike Myers (before he wore Dr. Evil into the ground). I can’t stand Jerry Lewis, Bill Murray, and, especially, Robin Williams. I think that the closest equivalent to Benigni’s style here in Johnny Stecchino might be Ernest P. Worrell in, for example, Ernest Goes to Jail. Honestly, I think the Ernest series a bit better than this Benigni effort.

Production Values: The strength of the production is the obvious care that has gone into some of the gags. One of my favorites occurred when Dante opened a cabinet where Johnny Toothpick was hiding. Johnny mirrored every movement of Dante so that he would appear to be Dante’s own reflection in a mirror. Another great bit of physical humor was when Dante was being denied entrance by a bouncer to a swank hotel and later when he is thrown out by the same man. There is a cute moment near the end when Maria kisses Dante, literally lifting him off his feet as she hugs him.

A few minor weaknesses were evident as well. The set-up takes inordinately long and the resolution is a bit weak. The material is rather thin for a full-feature film. Ultimately though, neither the strengths nor the weaknesses matter very much. It really just comes down to whether this brand of humor works for you or not.

Bottom-Line: If you like the idea of a sweet, goofy, loveless dweeb in a caper of mistaken identity, this film might be just the ticket for you. Think Ernest P. Worrell and if that kind of humor works for you, get yourself a copy of Johnny Stecchino. I’m giving it three stars, but I’m humble about my ability to rate comedies for other viewers. There’s just no accounting for taste in comedy. Johnny Stecchino is in Italian with English subtitles and has a running time of 100 minutes.

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older