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The plot takes place in Rome in the early 90s during the world soccer cup (lost by Italy). Three young, would-be scriptwriters, winners of a literary prize are the main characters: Antonino from Sicily, Luciano from Tuscany and Eugenia from Rome.

The three become fast friends and quickly get immersed in the decadent, weird and tricky world of Italian cinema. After its heydays in the 60s, the Italian scene is stagnant and most protagonists well past their prime. All that the young and naive youngsters seem destined to have is a future as ghost-writers, but are they interested or too disgusted by what they discover?

To complicate matters, the murder of an ageing producer takes place just after a dinner the three shared with him and his young lover. The "investigation" is a flashback in their recent past and an entertaining, slightly nostalgic but also ironic ride in the recent past.

Interesting to notice that the screenplay of the movie was written by Piccolo, Archibugi and Virzí (who also directed the movie) who provided a fictional version of their younger selves, each coming from the same region as their counterpart and having started their career as scriptwriters in the early 90s.