2018 Italian farce 5 Star Christmas, is another distinctive one. This one sees Italian Prime Minister Franco (Massimo Ghini) head off on an official visit to Budapest for Christmas week along with his trusted personal secretary Walter (Ricky Memphis). Part of the Italian delegation is his main political rival Giulia (Martina Stella), a senator from the opposition. It's all a bit dry and dull to start, with everyone talking politics at the airport and Franco and Giulia publicly putting on a good show of how much their ideologies are opposed and how they straight up hate each other.
However, as soon as Franco arrives at his swanky Presidential suite at the Grand Budapest Hotel, out pops Giulia in her undies - they’re having an affair! Didn't see that coming.
They’re finally about to do it for the first time when they discover a body in a Santa suit stuck in the window. Sexy mood suitably ruined, the two lovers are less concerned about how this poor sap got there, than they are with giving away their affair. Things get silly when Franco enlists Walter to help cover things up. It's one of those hugely farcical, old-fashioned films where the complications keep piling up, with Franco's web of lies becoming more and more ridiculously elaborate.
Franco's wife, Giulia's husband and one of Walter's old flames all become embroiled in the plot, while the body goes missing during an ill-fated attempt to dump it in the river. There are loads of near-misses, people having to hide in cupboards or jump out windows in the nick of time to avoid being caught and plenty of shocking revelations. It comes as absolutely no surprise that this was based on an old British screenplay, such is the level of its absurd vaudeville shenanigans. The whole thing has a level of safe but titillating "Ooh-er!" sauciness that harks back to the Carry On era.
Franco is suitably cocky and slimy, a hilarious caricature of the modern politician, constantly putting more and more energy into elaborate lies instead of just copping to the truth, no matter how damaging that might be. Watching these guys try to scheme and schmooze their way out of trouble really brings to mind our present Tory government who, especially throughout this infernal pandemic, have consistently been shown to be fibbers who act as though there should be one set of rules for them and another for the rest of us. Very presciently, Franco deludes himself that he’s doing all this “for the people''. What a hero.
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