"I Cassamortari" is a 2022 Italian comedy that aims to be light-hearted and carefree but fails miserably in its intent, revealing itself to be a banal, superficial, and at times embarrassing work. Directed by Claudio Amendola, the film falls within the realm of popular Italian comedies but stands out more for its flaws than any possible merits.
First of all, the plot is incredibly weak and predictable. At the center of the story is the Pasti family, who run a funeral business. When the family patriarch dies, his children, who are far from interested in continuing the family business, find themselves facing a series of absurd situations to keep the company afloat. The problem is that the film cannot find a true direction: its attempts to be irreverent, comedic, and touching at the same time result in complete confusion. Events follow one another without coherent logic, and many of the gags seem thrown in randomly, with no regard for narrative structure.
One of the film's biggest issues is its script, which is embarrassingly flat and stereotypical. The dialogues are predictable and lack any spark or originality. The jokes are cliched and forced, giving the impression that the writers randomly picked from a book of comic clichés, without any concern for creating genuinely funny situations. The characters are also extremely flat: they are caricatures with no depth, who do not develop over the course of the story.
The cast, including actors such as Massimo Ghini, Gianmarco Tognazzi, and Lucia Ocone, does its best to save the sinking ship, but even the best comic talent can only do so much with such a lackluster and uninspired script. Their performances are caricatured, but not in a fun sense: they seem more like poorly executed parodies of characters already seen in dozens of other low-quality Italian comedies. As a director, Claudio Amendola fails to guide his actors effectively, letting them lose themselves in over-the-top performances.
From a technical standpoint, "I Cassamortari" also leaves much to be desired. Amendola's direction is banal and lacks any distinctive touch. The shots are anonymous, and there's no attempt to make the story visually interesting, which is already dull on its own. The editing is frenzied without purpose, contributing to making the film even more disorganized and chaotic. The cinematography, meanwhile, offers nothing memorable: it's rather ordinary and flat, lacking any creative idea that could elevate the film's overall tone, even slightly.
Another problematic aspect of the film is its tone. "I Cassamortari" tries to play with the theme of death, treating it comically, but it never manages to find a balance. The jokes about death and funerals often come across as distasteful and provoke neither laughter nor thought. The film seems unsure of which path to take: on the one hand, it tries to be a dark comedy, but on the other, it flattens into a childish and nonsensical humor that fails to hit the mark.
Emotionally, the film is a total failure. The few times it tries to strike a deeper chord, it does so clumsily and insincerely. Moments meant to be touching come across as forced and sappy, making any kind of empathy with the characters or their situation impossible. There's never any true exploration of the theme of death or the challenges a family might face in running a funeral business: everything is handled with superficiality and lightness, without any genuine reflection.
In conclusion, "I Cassamortari" is a film propped up by a poor script, mediocre performances, and uninspired direction. It is neither funny nor touching, instead proving to be a poorly conceived and poorly executed work. It fails to meet even the lowest expectations for a light comedy and ranks among the worst Italian productions of recent years. A film to forget quickly, if not for the lingering sense of frustration over the time wasted watching it.
