QUI RIDO IO (2021), a film by Italian director Mario Martone, can be summed up in two words: Toni Servillo. The actor's genius allows him to incorporate the different facets, not always pleasant, often contradictory and even immoral, of Eduardo Scarpetta (1853-1925), actor and director who marked Neapolitan comedy at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, to a great extent. Partly due to the comic character he created, Felice Sciosciammocca. Actually, the first scene of the film is a long sequence that culminates with the appearance of this character on stage, which leads the audience to great euphoria.
However, as we progress in the story, we realize that this biographical film intends to direct our attention to a very concrete episode in Scarpetta's life. By parodying the tragedy "La Figlia di lorio", by Gabriele D'Annunzio, one of the most important Italian poets of the time, Scarpetta is accused of plagiarism, finding himself involved in a complex legal process, which puts in risk the conquered success.
The scenes in court are a delight for the spectator, with emphasis on Scarpetta's intelligent argumentation, raising very current issues, related to the notions of plagiarism, adaptation, freedom of expression. In the case of the "King of Laughter", it is not surprising that the film culminates in a comic performance by Eduardo Scarpetta, who transforms the courtroom into a theater stage.
