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12 out of 13 people found the following review useful: Comedy With A Unique Twist, 21 March 2006 Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States
What a wild comedy-romance this movie is, with the emphasis on comedy. The two main characters in this Italian film are a woman whose job is to fulfill men's fantasies and a movie sound man (Maurizio Nichetti) who creates wild sound for cartoons. He, himself, at the end, briefly turns into a cartoon character! I told you this was wild and, yes, a bit absurd, but it makes it unique.The woman, Angela Finochhiaro, isn't all that sexually appealing but she's fun to watch and she appears comfortable doing comedy. In here, she lets men do such things as pour chocolate all over her, pretend she's a holdup victim, scare her by driving too fast, watch her while she's nude, whatever, mostly crazy things.Despite the latter, it's not a sleazy film although certainly not wholesome family material, either, but it's not sex-obsessed and there is almost no profanity. All the characters are basically nice people. It's different, and worth a look if you can find it.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: A Perfect Film for a Weekend Marathon, 12 December 1999 Author: lmp226 (lmp226@nyu.edu) from New York City
I loved "Volere Volare." It's a difficult movie to describe, and should not be categorized as simply a "foreign film" or a "comedy," because it is not wholly either. It is the absurdly original love story of a "social worker," unique in her ability to fulfill her clients' strangest sexual fantasies (but no, they are not *that* strange, for the purpose is merely to indulge the viewer by bringing to life his own never-articulated desires) without reducing the film to trite pornography. It can only be called a "Weekend Marathon Movie," because that is exactly the function it serves to a T. The characters in this movie appreciate the simple pleasures of life -- from watching our heroine shower or bathe to decorating her body in assorted frostings and candies -- which brings the movie a light-hearted tone unmatched in most pictures that delight in being dirty. The key to "Volere Volare" is its innocence, most easily seen in the eccentric sound effects expert who falls for the mysterious woman he keeps running into on the street. This movie is perfect for long film-fests put on by tired teenagers in the basements of suburbia. When I want to watch a movie with friends, the last thing on my mind is "Scream 2" or "South Park." I want something that can repeatedly surprise me; something that never considers the formula Hollywood can't shake from its unoriginal head. I want to laugh until my sides hurt, and look around the room to see I'm not alone in my amused sentiment. I want complete originality from someone unconcerned with expensive special effects and blockbuster box office grosses. I want something fresh."Volere Volare" might be too large a leap for many, and I know that. But it is the PERFECT movie for anyone trying to pick six or seven movies for a marathon session in front of the VCR. This is a party movie, akin to "Run Virgin Run" (which is not yet on the database) and, to a lesser extent, "Being John Malkovich" (I'm a bit hesitant to include Charlie Kaufman's brainchild, far and away the best film ever made, in such a specific category, as it is the epitomy of everything a movie should be and not just a "good party film"). I guarantee that if you rent "Volere Volare," you will be beaming by the time the credits roll.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Great comedy !, 28 December 1999 Author: Mario Bergeron from Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Canada
Do I have to compare? With Roger Rabbitt or Mask? Please, don't! Because this great Italian film have more than Hollywood movies mixing humans with cartoons: it had cinematographic qualities, a simple but strong story, and originality. American models had only special effets. Nichetti puts his European sensibility and savoir-faire in a delightfull comedy, full of pretty funny gags (as an other viewers says, don't miss the dubbing of the blue movie!) See it again and again! It's better every time!One of the true original comedies of the 1990's.
4 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Love conquers all -- getting there is laughable!!, 30 December 2002 Author: Michael Gormley (savantguard@yahoo.com) from Seattle, Wa
Well, if you like to laugh and can abandon your expectations -- this film is rather enchanting. An unconventional and creative love-story which accomplishes what it sets out to do -- move beyond expectations. Good pace, good storyline, great humor, but best of all . . . . . . . not Hollywood -- no trite or overused vehicles for the story. Give it a try -- well worth the subtitles.
Godly State, 5 January 2007 Author: inbox-33 from Italy
The fact that Maurizio Nichetti longed to become a real cartoon was almost predictable: it was just the displaying of his intimate nature, with his resemblance to weird and funny stached little men of old movies, just like Grucho Marx (who ended up as a comic caracther in Dylan Dog's series), with impressive mimic abilities and a never ending sense of innocence and stupidity, in which the latter must not be seen negatively, but as the attitude of never gaining synchronism with the world. That's maybe the reason why he finally conquers a bi-dimensional life, just because a cartoon is a being of pure light. It is a sort of transfiguration, the achievement of a nearly godly state, that makes the meaning of this film much more complicated than one may think.
0 out of 3 people found the following review useful: A good idea gets animated and then takes a wrong turn, 14 July 2001 Author: Bothan from Birmingham, Alabama
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
***SPOILER WARNING***I did enjoy `Volere Volare' up to a certain point. The film is the work of a director named Maurizio Nichetti whose previous work I am not familiar with but what I learned about his technique (from just this film) is that he seems to have a rye sense of humor and a knack for defying all logic to make his comedy truly bizarre.Nichetti stars as a character named Maurizio who is the sound effects artist for classic cartoons. His perverted brother on the other hand is a fellow sound engineer who hires women to provide the moans and groans for porn films. This alone could have made for a very wicked comedy by itself but once the idea is introduced, Nichetti doesn't do anything with it.Instead he introduces us to another element that could have made an entire movie. We meet a prostitute named Martina who specializes in very weird clients who get to play out their sexual fantasies even if they don't always fit the classic definition of erotic (some have to be seen to be believed).Up until this point Nichetti seems to be setting the elements of a great comedy in motion. We wait to see how he will tie these three characters together but instead he throws in a very strange development, which trashes the second half of the movie. Maurizio begins to exhibit signs of turning into an animated version of himself and eventually he does, unfortunately just when he is about to have sex with Martina. This is an interesting idea as the springboard for another comedy but Nichetti uses that as his climax and we sense an opportunity lost.My affection for bawdy comedy kept me confident with what worked in `Volare Volere' but I sensed that he didn't have a direction in mind. This is a movie all the pieces in place with a director who hasn't supplied himself with a direction in which to carry them.Rating: ** (of four)
0 out of 4 people found the following review useful: A comedy that tries for originality, 10 February 1999 Author: anonymous from Chicago
A lightweight, intermittently appealing movie of more than dubious sexual attitudes (are we supposed to think that Martina's prostitution -- for that's what it adds up to -- is charming just because the clients are weird? And their fetishes are not so terribly original.) However, there are some extremely funny moments. The dubbing of the blue movie is not to be missed.
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