Fracchia The Human Beast

Giandomenico Fracchia is a timid clerk at a chocolate factory who apologises for existing. His misfortune is his face: he is identical to the Human Beast, the most dangerous criminal in the country, and once the police pick him up the confusion runs. Paolo Villaggio plays both, building Fracchia as a slightly softened relative of his famous Fantozzi. The premise is old, borrowed straight from American mistaken-identity comedies, but the Italian version anchors it in bureaucracy and the humiliation of the small office worker, which gives it its own footing. Neri Parenti directed, with Lino Banfi and Massimo Boldi in support. Who it is for: viewers who like eighties Italian comedy and Villaggio's stock characters. Who it is not for: anyone without the context, since most of the jokes lean on the Fantozzi inheritance.