How to Grow Up Despite Your Parents

A group of students at a secondary school have a band called Alex & Co. The real problem is not at school but at home: the parents intervene constantly in their children's marks, teachers and timetables, and become the obstacle to growing up. Luca Lucini directs. It was produced by The Walt Disney Company Italia with 3Zero2 and comes out of the Disney Channel series Alex & Co. That detail is what makes it unusual: it is cited as the first Italian feature adapted from an Italian television series. It is commissioned work aimed at a very young audience, and yet the cast is surprisingly heavy. Margherita Buy, Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Matthew Modine play the parents, alongside Leonardo Cecchi and Beatrice Vendramin from the series. The interesting move is turning the target on the parents rather than the children. The subject is adults who convert their children's schooling into their own arena of competition, which is a familiar argument in Italy. It opened in Italian cinemas on 24 November 2016. Who it is for: young viewers who follow the series, and anyone looking for a family film. Who it is not for: nobody is introduced if you have not seen the series, and the musical numbers keep stopping the story.