I picked up this movie a bit at random. I thought it would be just another comedy / romance movie with a beaten up storyline. Boy, was I mistaken!
The plot is quite simple: there is a group of people with mental disturbs and mental illness, ranging from lack of control to Tourette syndrome who must attend a day centre where they have group meetings. Some are them voluntarily... others not so much: they got in trouble with the justice and were forced to attend the meetings, as an alternative to jail.
The main characters are Clara and Diego, (played by Miriam Leone and Stefano Accorsi).
The first part of the movie is an introduction to these characters and their issues, showing us how they ended up in that place.
I was sorry they haven't done the same for the secondary characters, it would have been nice, too. I always felt something was missing from the movie because of that...
Then the movie takes a turn, when Clara decides to fabricate online reviews of a made up restaurant. She says wonders about a place called Monroe, describing the food, the fabulous staff and genius chef...
She even adds photos of the food, with objects which aren't even edible... but they look tasty on the photos! 馃槄
The reviews are so successful that this non-existing restaurant starts getting a lot of demand. She avoids making reservations by saying they are full until Christmas. 馃
The problems start when someone says: "Ok, book me up for Christmas"! Clara wasn't counting on that... so both of them argue about it and end up opening the restaurant at the day centre where they gather for meetings. 馃ぁ
Diego is the Chef, Clara is the Marketing Director... and the other patients are the waiters and waitresses. Obviously, they end up in trouble... but the whole process is extremely funny to observe and will surely make you laugh.
I enjoyed the cast. They were not brilliant but were good enough to make me believe them. Both lead actors also managed to make me feel happy about their characters instead of pity... and that's a great achievement on their part. Most of the time I could empathise with Clara and Diego.
Personally, I liked Clara the best, she was quite crazy but always very funny and charming. Even her anger fits were adorable in some way. 馃
The movie is spoken in Italian, so you will need subtitles. The music and scenery were perfectly well adjusted to the story, too.
Overall, this is an interesting and funny comedy with a few bits of drama and romance which will make you feel good through most of the time. But it also makes you think how society in general treats those who are unlucky enough to suffer from mental issues.
I rate it with an 9 out of 10.
