Ho voglia di te

Riccardo Scamarcio glares out from the posters promising a thousand delights. A romantic comedy with the romantic star of the moment. What more could his teen age fans want? I'm not sure but it must be more than this. Riccardo Scamarcio, building a reputation as a "serious" actor keeps turning this thinner than thin nonsense that risks to alienate his young adoring fans and jeopardize the potential career of a "serious" actor. Here he seems bored. As if he was above it all. As if he just wanted to get the hell out of there. Even with the introduction of his character (his name is Step, yes Step), the director attempts a star introduction. He is on an escalator, his back to us. Then he turns. But the turning is hesitant, his eyes wonder. Embarrassment? Insecurity? Maybe both, maybe one feeding the other. I hope Scamarcio wakes up. He certainly has the face and, I suspect, the talent. The Italian cinema needs a great film star and he seems to have all it takes, except perhaps, good advise or a good ear. I'm prepared to give him, one more chance.

Riccardo Scamarcio floats through this, how should I call it? - romantic comedy? with annoying passivity. Smouldering vacuously. The stunning, vivacious Laura Chiatti, scores all the points. This tired tale of boy loses girl, gets another and then...looks old before it starts. The aforementioned Scamarcio seems to go through it all with a gun to his head. He doesn't even manages a little bit of charm. I fear this is a repeating strategy of the one of two important Italian production/distribution companies. They get a name that seems to attract young audiences and squeeze them to death, putting them in one brainless project after another. Here there is a brave attempt by director Luis Pietro, to play on Scamarcio's growing status as a teen age idol, but Scamarcio doesn't seem very willing to oblige and as a consequence the whole thing collapses. The grainy photography - maybe it was me, sitting on the third row of the Adriano movie house - doesn't help the idea of romance when you see every pimple in the actor's faces. The theater packed by, mostly, teen age girls and their reluctant boyfriends sat in silence until the opening a beer can, provoked a few giggles. Nudity and empty glances try to accomplish the impossible. Delivering what it promises.