Happy Family

An Italian comedy about a screenwriter who talks to his own characters. Ezio is a screenwriter approaching forty. He lives alone, has money and is blocked. The story he is writing is this: two peculiar families have to meet when their children decide to marry. Then the characters start interfering with the writer. They knock at the door, complain about their parts, ask for bigger scenes and press their own ideas. Ezio writes himself into the story with a romantic role, which the characters are happy to accept. The method comes straight out of a theatrical tradition; the idea of characters in search of their author is openly invoked. There is something underneath as well: Ezio is afraid of happy endings. That is why he cannot finish the story. The source is Alessandro Genovesi's play; the director co-wrote the screenplay with him. Fabio De Luigi plays Ezio. Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Margherita Buy and Diego Abatantuono are in the cast. Gabriele Salvatores directed. A light and clever choice for anyone who likes Italian comedy and games with narrative. For a viewer expecting realism, the film keeps reminding you of its own fiction and sustains that as a game.