Fantozzi

= = =__FANTOZZI__=



Let's spend a few words for an Italian TV accountant, **Ugo Fantozzi**. Fantozzi is the name of a character created and played by the Italian actor Paolo Villaggio. Based on the stories collected in two books written by Villaggio, the Fantozzi saga is about a man with a weak character, followed by misfortune and by the "mega-director" of the "mega-company" where he worked. Ugo Fantozzi is a comic character "thanks" to all what happens to him; he doesn't fight against his destiny, a cruel force that gives him hard times. Fantozzi always finds himself in embarrassing situation and his rough and simple nature doesn't help him to go out on a limb. The first film appeared in 1975 and many others followed, obtaining/getting great success among the Italian public.

1975, Fantozzi (by Luciano Salce) 1976, Il secondo tragico Fantozzi (by Luciano Salce) 1980, Fantozzi contro tutti (by Nero Parenti and Paolo Villaggio) 1983, Fantozzi subisce ancora (by Nero Parenti) 1986, Superfantozzi (by Nero Parenti) 1988, Fantozzi va in pensione (by Nero Parenti) 1990, Fantozzi alla riscossa (by Nero Parenti) 1993, Fantozzi in Paradiso (by Nero Parenti) 1996, Fantozzi - Il ritorno (by Nero Parenti) 1999, Fantozzi 2000 - La clonazione (by Domenico Saverni)
 * The films**

Paolo Villaggio, the actor playing the role of Fantozzi, used to work for a large international company and experienced the daily little humiliations and frustrations so often present in large offices. He used his experience to write some satyrical books about this hopeless character. Masked behind the funny stories of Ugo Fantozzi, there are the horrible realities of the daily work life of a humble worker. The movies are far less profound than the books. The slap-stick comedies are so good that everything else is forgotten. The attention to detail is impressive and can only be appreciated after a second or third vision of the movies. All the characters are very real and can be found in every day life: an exigent chairman, a seductive secretary, ambitious fellow-workers.

Fantozzi works as an accountant in a company where nobody is much interested in him. Almost everybody take profit of him using him as a servant for their more annoying needs. Sometimes, instead, they simply want to make fun of him and they treat him as an inferior human being. On his part, Fantozzi cannot oppose any of these situations, for he feels as inferior as the others think he is. There are really few occasions in which we can see him making a stand against his colleagues' abuses, but he never manages to be listened to. nobody thinks he really has an independent opinion or a personal will. He just is at the service of his //Megaditta// - his company - and that's all. His most interesting colleagues are:
 * Fantozzi at work**
 * the **Geometra Filini** (//Surveyor Filini//) - a thin funny man with thick thick eyeglasses who always organizes Sunday trips for his company. Obviously, Fantozzi goes through a lot of misadventures in all the different places where they go, so that we can see that even in occasion of a relaxing trip bad luck and an averse destiny leaves him alone.




 * his colleague **Silvani** - she works with Fantozzi and she a typical //vamp//vamp, a teasing woman who dresses zoot suits and behaves in a way that attracts Fantozzi very much. He is always staring at her as if she was an apparition, but, as you can easily guess, she will never feel anything for him.
 * the **Megadirettore galattico** (//the mega galactic head manager//the mega galactic head manager) - he has absolute power on his employees' lives. You can never see him, because when he always surrounded by such a glare that you can only hear his thundering voice shouting at Fantozzi.

And how could **Fantozzi's family** be? It counts other two members: Pina,Ugo's wife, is a little, insignificant woman who doesn't really love his husband, but just takes pity on him. Two actresses played the role of Pina: Milena Vukotic and Liù Bosisio, who is now the voice of Marge Simpson). Then there is Ugo's daughter, Mariangela, a horrible, stupid girl similar to a monkey, who is actually played by a man: the actor Plinio Fernando. It could be easily imagined: Fantozzi's family is a total failure and our protagonist cannot find a refuge even at his own home.