“Let's be wrong, comedy has no boundaries.”

“We are always happy and free to be wrong.” Finally, two comedians have no intention of denouncing the gags and self-censorship of politically correct thought: “It's true, we live in difficult times and everything you say risks offending someone, but we have always assumed our responsibilities and have not been afraid of controversy. . They explained that comedy cannot have limits, as people want to laugh from the depths of their faces Pio and Amedeo Who with their sense of humor, impudently “southern”, return to the cinema on December 28 as the heroes of the film “How Can You Rock” (like the song Battisti Mogul) directed by Gennaro Nunziante, former partner of Chico Zalone and director of the film two years ago a couple in Hello, Beautiful People, the first Great total after the pandemic.

the message

In the film Pio (Pio Dantini) is a man from the south, shy and awkward, who ends up a “hostage” in the north of his wife's rich family, Francesca Valtorta, who forces him to be a businessman and also plans to pilot his possible career politics. But everything changes when the prisoner Amedeo (real name El Greco) bursts into the man's life as a matter of fact, and with his incorrect and extremely heavy behaviour, will push the meek Pio to finally become himself, complete with guitar and nails, to go to hell with him. Prestige and money. “The idea for the film came from Nunzianti who tried to take to the extreme what we are in reality,” explain the two comedians from Foggia, both in their 40s (also featuring Claudio Bigagli, Rodolfo Corsato and Nicola Rignanese). What will be the message of How Can You Rock? “Human relationships help to overcome problems, and living in a secretive and overprotective way does not bring happiness. We wanted to make an honest, sincere film and not disappoint the audience.” And by the way: There is a lot of talk these days about the crisis of comedy. Takeovers are disappointing for a genre that was once a pillar of Italian cinema also because many great, disposable films end up Soon on platforms where audiences can watch without leaving home. “Being a comedian is not an easy task,” says Amedeo, “those who go to see one of our comedies want to ‘turn off work’ and enjoy a few hours.”

The two actors have a career spanning twenty years distributed over theater (they will soon resume touring the Felicissimo show), cinema, radio and television: from Telenorba and Telefoggia they moved to Mediaset as presenters of Zelig, Le Iene, Emigratis and Felicissima sera and have landed in Sanremo. Today, the two actors offer advice to young people who want to follow in their footsteps: “Leave social media and go work among the people,” says Amedeo.

the group

“Train your skills through traditional vocational training, as we did,” Pugh adds. If a YouTuber gets millions of views on the web, it doesn't mean he'll do well on TV too… You have to accept criticism because it helps you grow, while haters don't change anything. The two actors' comedy has always exploited their being “Southern”: “We play on stereotypes and on the eternal debate between North and South because we want everyone to understand us,” they explain, “but we are very attached to our homeland.” Earth, we all owe it. Foggia is talked about badly, and considered an unlivable city, in the news, but the reality is much less dramatic than one might think. It is precisely in his original place that Amedeo stayed to live (“I cannot be away from him, I like to be among my people”), while Pio moved to Milan some time ago. “At first it scared me,” he reveals, “and now I feel very comfortable with it too because I have about forty relatives around me.”
Checco Zalone also comes from Puglia and has always been a big hit at the box office with his highly incorrect comedies. “We are friends, we appreciate that but it is easier to be wrong in the cinema because you are protected by a mask,” the two say. “In live instead you have to throw yourself, in the theater we are suicidal.” Thirty or forty years ago, comedians joined “They combined their strength and worked together, and today we would like to work with Zaloni. It will be a very interesting experience.”

Competitors

Who are your most dangerous competitors at the box office this holiday season? Ficarra, Picconi, Ciani, Di Luigi and Accorsi? “We don't feel like we're in competition, we want everyone to win and we promoted the film specifically to send people to the cinema,” respond Pio and Amedeo. That cinema records the huge success of There's Still Tomorrow, Paola Cortellisi's first film about domestic violence, which has grossed (so far) $31 million. “This result rewards Paula's great talent and shows that deep content is not always available to the few. It is no coincidence that we aim to reach as many viewers as possible. Cinema belongs to everyone.”