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Roberto Benigni: Buster Keaton
built 237 days ago
Arguably the most popular Italian screen comedian since the immortal Toto, Roberto Benigni mastered the exacting art of improvisational humor early. Inspired by Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Peter Sellers, Benigni first gained fame in his native country with his own must-see TV series, sustaining his vast following with several hilarious movie appearances.
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Writing about Jarmusch's "Down by Law", Roger Ebert raved, "The discovery in the picture is the redoubtable Roberto Benigni, who has an irrepressible, infectious manner and is absolutely delighted to be himself. . . He's like a show-off kid who gets you laughing and then starts laughing at himself, he's so funny, and then tries to top himself no matter what." In addition to such usual comedy suspects as Charlie Chaplain and Buster Keaton, Benigni has drawn inspiration from French film comics Jacques Tati and Louis de Funes.
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There is so much wrong on so many levels with Benigni's "masterpiece." Firstly, it is an amateur work of shoddy craft that is uninspired throughout. Benigni's direction is maudlin and lifeless, his writing one-dimensional, and his performance myopic and grating. Apparently inspired by silent film comedians Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, the only trait Benigni seems to have inherited is Chaplin's simplistic sentimentality. The physical comedy on display features none of Keaton's or Chaplin's balletic grace or creativity, and completely forsakes small nuances for shameless, unmerited emotional pandering.
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