Ugo Fantozzi (a very average, timid and down-trodden office worker) is the creation of Paolo Villaggio who penned the adventures of Fantozzi based on his own experiences working for a large corporation. These stories were subsequently used as the basis of a number of films about Fantozzi all starring Villaggio.
Paolo Villaggio was a very fine comedian, who created various characters, of which Fantozzi was the best. Villaggio's humour can be best defined as tragi-comedy. Amid the humour, there is tragedy and things rarely end well for Villaggio's heroes.
"Il secondo tragico Fantozzi" was a follow up to the original and it was the peak of the Fantozzi series. There are a number of hilarious and well-choreographed scenes the best of which is the disastrous ship launch.
Film buffs may also enjoy the scenes where employees are repeatedly forced to watch, enjoy and discuss Sergei Eisenstein's immortal "Battleship Potemkin", culminating in the employees being forced to re-enact the Odessa steps massacre, another film high point.
Non Italian-speaking viewers may not grasp the humour as well as Italians as some specific references may not translate well and besides, much of the humour is in Paolo Villaggio's excellent narration, told in his inimitable fatalistic style. If you see a dubbed version, this is especially lost. A sub-titled version may be better, as at least Villaggio's voice will be heard.
A better director and a little more control on plot would have made a better film, but this is indeed still a bellyful of laughs.
