LA MATASSA

Pedro Armocida e Giulio Sangiorgio
Studying comedy film, that is, understanding of what, how, and why we laugh today, means reflecting on the balance, common places, common sense, and feeling of mod- esty of a society. The opposite and complementary mirror of the horror genre, and of how it gives shape to the phobias of time, comedy is a genre and a matter capable of exposing the characteristics of a precise historic moment and the self-perception of a country and a time period. The names of Salvo Ficarra and Valentino Picone have been popular for three decades, as they have been active in theatre, television (they have even conducted Striscia la notizia), and cinema (their filmography already counts ten titles). The top-selling duo have distinguished themselves for the quality of their pro- posal and the ability to turn their films into forums on the political, social, and an- thropological issues of the day (from populism to religion, not to mention crime). First as screenwriters, then as directors, along with Checco Zalone and Paola Cortellesi they represent one of the vanguards of popular comedy. An eclectic comic duo – as they are producers and writers for their own production company Tramp LTD too: just think of Vincenzo Pirrotta’s drama Spaccaossa, presented at the Venice Days – they are not alien to multimedia, at ease on a theatre stage as well as in the Netflix series Framed! A Sicilian Murder Mystery, on mainstream TV, and in film, nor they refrain from work- ing with directors who reinvent them exploiting their potential (Giuseppe Tornatore, Franco Maresco, Roberto Andò). The career of Ficarra and Picone is reconstructed in this book dispensing with snobbish preconceptions of popular forms of entertainment, and telling the story of one of the most meaningful and beloved experiences of Italian film and television.

Ridere sul serio. Il cinema e i film di Ficarra e Picone (Marsilio)
Essays, interviews, and comments by: Pedro Armocida, Andrea Bellavita, Silvia Camp- isano, Gianni Canova, Paola Casella, Serena Dandini, Flavio De Bernardinis, Steve Della Casa, Fiaba Di Martino, Mauro Donzelli, Ilaria Feole, Federico Gironi, Marco Giusti, Marco Grosoli, Anton Giulio Mancino, Emanuela Martini, Roy Menarini, Rocco Mocca- gatta, Marco Müller, Giona A. Nazzaro, Cristiana Paternò, Federico Pedroni, Giulio San- giorgio, Mario Sesti, Ornella Sgroi, Caterina Taricano, Federica Villa.