I Can Quit Whenever I Want

Pietro Zinni, a neurobiologist who loses his university post in the middle of the financial crisis, gathers up former colleagues in the same position. The crew has a chemist, an archaeologist, an anthropologist and a Latinist, all unemployed and all overqualified. Exploiting a legal gap, they manufacture a stimulant not yet banned and sell it in nightclubs. It is Sydney Sibilia's first film, with Edoardo Leo leading and Valeria Solarino alongside him. Domenico Procacci and Matteo Rovere produced for Fandango, Ascent Film and Rai Cinema. The joke is built on the state of Italian academia: once these people turn to crime, their biggest advantage is not that they are criminals but that nobody has ever taken them seriously. It opened on 6 February 2014 and grossed 5.5 million dollars. At the 2014 David di Donatello Awards it collected nominations including Best Film and Best New Director, and at the Nastri d'Argento its producers won Best Producer. Two sequels followed, both in 2017, Masterclass and Ad Honorem, plus a remake in 2019. Who it is for: viewers who like fast crime comedy and anyone who knows academic unemployment from the inside. Who it is not for: anyone looking for realism. The film takes the Breaking Bad setup and turns it into farce, and does not pretend otherwise.