Lascia perdere, Johnny!

Faustino is the only son of a widow. That, in Italy, is one of the reasons why someone could be exempt from military service. Faustino finds himself at this crossroads when we meet him. He plays guitar with a band but needs to transform his amateurish musical endeavors into something profitable to be accepted as the only financial support to his mother. Augusto enters the scene, a musician carrying the baggage of a dusty reputation - his biggest claim to fame was a brief affair with Ornella Vanoni some years before - The important thing however is that Augusto - who will open an unexpected door to Faustino and rename him Johnny - is played by Fabrizio Bentivoglio who also directs and writes with a willful laid back style. The road chosen is uncertain and uneven to say the least but there is a genuine charm taking over the unfocused yarn that it's immediately contagious. He counts with the valuable collaboration of some very good actors playing charmingly over the top characters. Lina Sastri, adorable as Faustino's mother. Valeria Golino as the local hairdresser that becomes a groupie and Faustino's romantic fantasy plus Avion Travel's Toni and Peppe Servillo. I left the theater with a smile on my face. That for me makes the whole thing more than worth it.