Mio cognato (2003) Poster

(2003)

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7/10
Great actors for a quite good script.
nablaquadro6 September 2005
In the south of Italy, two men couldn't be more different. Vito (Lo Cascio) is honest but naive; his brother-in-law, Toni (Rubini), is sharp but a dubious citizen too. There's never been any kind of friendship between them, but the stealing of Vito's car and the hunt to recover it will act as excuse to discover themselves.

Alessandro Piva directs two skilled actors with expert touch through the right thing: overcome the differences to become friends; with a music doing a great job.

And yet...The script is at the same time too poor for exacting audiences, but even not a comedy. Personally, I wouldn't wasted time to characterize well-known stereotypes (the criminals), and I would gave more shape to the story. The touching ending deserved more care.

Anyway, a lesson for all the high-budget films. Good.

>>>> 3 stars out of 5
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5/10
Brother-in-law
jotix10025 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The christening of Toni's son brings together a lot of people to celebrate the occasion. Vito, who is married to Anna, Toni's sister, forgets to bring the gift they forgot in his car. Looking from a terrace where the party is being held, Vito realizes his car was stolen. In its parking space he discovers a large lemon. Toni steps in assuring his brother-in-law he will take care of it with the insurance, but Vito has another idea.

Toni takes matters into his own hands, by going to all his underworld acquaintances trying to rescue Vito's car, something that proves a difficult task. The brothers-in-law will spend all night going through Bari riding Toni's fabulous red convertible without much luck. When they finally locate the car, there is a big surprise awaiting them.

Written and directed by Alessandro Piva, the film had good potential to be an entertaining film. The problem with the picture is in the way the screenplay does not keep its promise falling flat in many scenes. The most hilarious sequence is perhaps the one when Toni and Vito go to see Cilluzzo, an underground figure who might be able to help. Vito is left with the young daughter who is practicing dance steps to see if he likes them. Vito ends up doing some of the routines himself.

The pairing of Sergio Rubini and Luigi LoCascio should have paid off in better ways, but they come from different acting styles and while Mr. Rubini is at his best, Luigi LoCascio, a serious actor, is too stiff, in comparison. The film has its moments, but they are few and far between.
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