Die Braut kann nicht warten

Gino Cervi is the hero here who is going to get married. Everything is perfectly planned and organised, and all he has to do is to get to the wedding, and he is driving his car himself. No problem so far. On the way he is stopped by a group of people urging him to come to the rescue of a young pregnant girl who has jumped into the river in a suicidal effort. Since he knows to swim, he has no choice, he saves the girl, and the complications start piling up. His bride (Gino Lollobrigida at her youngest and most gorgeous) is waiting impatiently at the church with her family and the whole village. Gino finds no telephone and gets busy with arrangements for the girl who is giving birth at any moment. The complications have only just begun to multiply. This is a comedy with grave undertones, and Gino Cervi learns a lot on this eventful day. Everything is put at risk, Lollobrigida's temper is not to be trifled with, and the party becomes a polyphonic spectacle of many fake shows and enforced subplots, including some hide and seek in a cow stable. This is a comedy of the kind that Vittorio de Sica would become the master of, but the question is if not this comedy surpasses all of de Sica's. It is not tremendously funny because of the serious undertones, but it is so hilariously human all the way. This is a must for any fan of Italian neorealism, comedy, Lollobrigida and Italian life at large.