They Called Him Amen / Così sia (Alfio Caltabiano, 1972)

[Mickey13]

Copied from the Spagvemberfest 2023 thread:

@Mickey13

Now I do realize this was produced with certain audiences in mind and one needs to approach the work at hand in the right state of mind and preferably, intoxicate themselves before embarking on the whole enchilada, but on the other hand, that is a whole lot of provisos and preconditions one needs to meet before fully appreciating what essentially constitutes a scuzzy piece of vaudeville trash. If unclogging your toilet or doing your laundry seems like a more disporting and rewarding prospect than what ought to be a piece of entertainment at the end of the day, then perhaps such entertainment is not sufficiently entertaining to begin with. There is no style nor is there any three-dimensional or even one-dimensional storyline to latch onto, there is nothing here.

Although, at some point, a bank robbery scheme emerges out of the chaos of paltry, loosely related sketches involving gay jokes, dropping pants, stealing horses, all that good stuff, that also ultimately yields to the more meretricious considerations, guiding the production into the nether regions of the genre. The even bigger issue consists in that Merenda and Caltabiano do not make for a very compelling pair of comedians and fail to carry this largely flaccid mixture of base humor; therefore, the only element the flick has to fall back on is its slapstick which it admittedly provides in spades. Notwithstanding, for it to work, the slapstick also requires some impeccable directing, brisk rendition and a charismatic leading man charming the audience whenever he appears on the screen; none of that is present here, so what unfolds brings tedium, horror, tears of desperation and gnashing of teeth.