Where Am I Going? – movie review

A charming, feel good Italian comedy about a stuck-up mummy’s boy who has to change his ways if he is to ever find a partner in life, Where Am I Going? has become the highest grossing movie in Italian history – and it’s not hard to see why. The story takes a not-so-subtle dig at the Italian obsession of pursuing a cushy job-for-life in the public service, with its generous pension and the seeming impossibility of termination.

Co-writer Luca Medici stars as his much-celebrated comic character, Checco Zalone, a middle-aged slacker from Southern Italy who, thanks to the help of his father, is one of the privileged few with such a post. But change is in the air and with a new reformist government vowing to cut down on bureaucracy, Checco is forced to go to great lengths to hold onto his pen-pushing role. That means sticking it out even if it results in being sent to the North Pole or Africa. And, indeed, one overly officious government employee does just that to Checco, dispatching him to far-flung places in an endeavor to get him to sign away his “for life” entitlements. Her exasperation continues to grow as Checco constantly finds loopholes. Love, however, just might be his undoing … Checco meets Valeria, a young researcher who studies global warming and its effect on animals and he is immediately smitten. Mind you, she has a few surprises up her sleeve as well.

Where Am I Going? is a real crowd pleaser and very funny from the opening scene. There were peels of laughter amongst the full audience I saw it with. It has heart and warmth. It is also quirky and kooky. You just never know where it is heading. The way Checco’s tale is revealed is far from conventional. He has to explain his life story to an African tribe that is ready to eat him and it is up to the tribal elder to give him the thumbs up or the thumbs down.

Although the film is deliciously light-hearted, it strikes a balance between non-stop gags and some very pointed cultural criticism. It manages to be most entertaining in a good, old fashioned kind of way, one that puts a smile on your dial … and that is still what drags people into cinemas the world over. Rated M, Where Am I Going? scores a 7½ out of 10.

Director: Gennaro Nunziante
Cast: Eleonora Giovanardi, Luca Medici, Sonia Bergamasco
Release Date: 13 October 2016
Rating: M

Alex First