Is this movie Verdone's masterpiece? Many think so. I think the movie is a pivotal point in Carlo Verdone movie making career.Verdone makes a massive effort in trying to blend the character based style of many previous films with a new, more story based, kind. Verdone is tired of the old formula, but at the same time is not ready to make a movie that does not include strong life-like characters. The final result is a mixture of the old character based formula with a more story oriented one.The movie itself is rather good, but don't expect the side splitting scenes that made Verdone an household name. Expect more a sort of "Un sacco bello" meets "Borotalco".The Roman characters are still there, Angelo Finocchiaro the butcher is a master stroke, but so is the sadness of "Un sacco bello".Verdone character is an adult version of "Mimmo" from the early movies. But this time Mimmo has got a girlfriend; this is the bit that makes me think that Verdone is tired of acting the part of the unlucky sweet guy.The artist is torn between the sure and familiar style and a new more interesting one. But the new style is also very dangerous, will the public understand the change of direction? Will it follow the beloved Verdone even if the movies are not so funny anymore?. After this movie the great Roman actor/director/writer was to start making a new breed of movies where the characters are less prominent. Basically Verdone leaves Rome, and all its colorful but sometime heavy characters, for a more "international" background where new and less worn characters can develop. The results are a mixed bag. Some movies are good, some are very bad. But overall the bad ones will outweigh the nice ones. So much so that Verdone went back to the tried and tested character based formula with his latest productions. "Compagni di scuola" deserves to be seen.The movie can amuse almost anyone, but Verdone fans can really see the painful transformation of Verdone old style in the new one. A must see for fans, a good movie for anyone else.
