Allora, what do we have here? Behind the intriguing title, All You Need Is Crime hides a charming Italian mainstream comedy well worth your time. We will be following three friends who accidently time-travel to the early eighties and quickly get into trouble with a local gang. The atmosphere is vibrant and cheerful, capturing the best eighties have to offer. I love watching these foreign movies primarily aimed at domestic audiences, in this case, Italian. You get a feel for that nation, what they find funny or interesting. You see how they speak, their mannerism, and all the other little things that make up the national identity.
All You Need Is Crime AKA Non Ci Resta Che Il Crimine oddly enough leans into the stereotypical Italian stuff. Our three middle-aged protagonists don’t have steady jobs as they want to give guided tours about the criminals of their city. Football is also almost constantly in the background of the story. I don’t want to go any further not to spoil anything but this certainly feels like an Italian movie. I do have to say one thing, they sure do talk a lot. At first, I thought that the gang they were talking about was made up but when I looked it up, it turned out to be fucking real!
Banda della Magliana really operated in Rome during the early eighties so much of the story you’re going to hear actually happened. Of course, without our three bumbling guys coming from the future and messing things up. As this is an Italian mainstream comedy, you can count on two things. They will rely on situational humor rather than on funny dialogue. There won’t be any laugh-out-laud moments but something will constantly be happening. And there will be a fair amount of nudity and steamy situations. This is a movie that doesn’t require any effort on the part of the viewer and offers a feel-good story you can disappear in.
Moreno, Sebastiano, and Giuseppe are three friends hoping to get their new business venture off the ground quickly. They plan on giving tours about the famous Magliana gang but it seems that no one wants to take them. And then the police fines them for operating without a license. So, the three of them head to their local bar to regroup. This is the moment where they will accidentally discover a time portal. A time portal that’s going to take them straight to the year 1982 when the Magliana gang was at the height of its power. And our three heroes intend to get rich quickly in this strange new old world.
All You Need Is Crime is a mediocre movie that’s still worth watching, especially if you’re looking for something with flavor. European comedies offer a very different atmosphere from American ones. The French ones are simply the best although Spanish and Italian are also quite good. If nothing else they’re refreshing and pacey. This one also features excellent and snappy editing. The performances are quite good and fit the mood of the movie perfectly. The title of the movie references an early comedy by one of the most famous Italian filmmakers and actors Roberto Benigni.
Non Ci Resta Che Piangere is a 1984 movie that involves time travel just like this one, Non Ci Resta Che Il Crimine. Speaking of Benigni, I cannot recommend you enough his masterpiece The Monster AKA Il Mostro. It’s one of the funniest movies I have ever seen and it has huge replay value. When it comes to this mainstream genre, I Can Quit Whenever is a good choice. And if you want to see a story about a real criminal taking place in the eighties, The Ruthless is a must-see.
Director: Massimiliano Bruno
Writers: Andrea Bassi, Nicola Guaglianone, Menotti
Cast: Alessandro Gassmann, Marco Giallini, Gianmarco Tognazzi, Edoardo Leo, Ilenia Pastorelli
Fun Facts: All you Need Is Crime is just the first movie in a trilogy. The next one is Ritorno al crimine with the last one being C’era una volta il crimine. Both of the sequels appear to be a bit lower quality but if you’re looking to see what happens in the end, Allora!
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7475206/
