Roberto Benigni has with Johnny Stecchino made a comedy based on tried classical examples. He has however taken the liberty of introducing his own variations on these examples. Deborah Young (Variety): ‘Benigni makes good use of full artistic control to let his comic inspiration run wild. The result is a genuinely funny update on the ancient comic art.’Benigni plays a double leading role: that of Dante, a bus-driver who transports handicapped children (Young: ‘Pic’s natural, uncondescending presentation of youngsters with Down’s syndrome has been hailed’) and of Johnny Stecchino, a Sicilian mafioso on the run. Maria, Johnny Stecchino’s girl-friend, takes a fancy to Dante, because he is the spitting image of her friend Johnny. She lures him to Palermo to make him take the place of the wanted criminal. This swap leads to many misunderstandings which pilot the comedy. Dante is innocence itself in Palermo (he sees a large shipment of cocaine as medicines for diabetics) and he thinks that the whole police force of Palermo is after him for stealing a banana. As befits a good comedy, the story lines planted earlier all come together in the finale. ‘It results in a situation at the Palermo Opera House that suggests The Godfather as played by the Marx Brothers’, according to John Francis Lane of Screen International.Benigni’s producers Mario and Vittorio Cecchi Gori did not skimp in the film’s budget, so Benigni had an opportunity of working with a very professional crew. The film went on to break the necessary box office records in Italy.
