Dante (Roberto Benigni) is a man who knows how to have a good time, even if he doesn’t always realize it. He primarily works as a volunteer bus driver for mentally-handicapped adults, and earns a living scamming the government for insurance benefits, falsely claiming to have suffered an accident that left him partially disabled and thus unfit to get a proper job. This all changes when Maria (Nicoletta Braschi) quite literally runs into him, after she accidentally hits Dante with her car. Unbeknownst to the hero, this woman is the wife of a notorious Sicilian mobster named Johnny Stecchino (Benigni, in a dual role), who is currently being hunted by rival gangsters after he betrayed them and submitted their names to the authorities. Currently hiding in the basement of his enormous mansion, Johnny convinces his wife to help him hatch a plan to ensure his survival, since it’s only a matter of time before he finds himself a victim to the angry mob out to harm him. Due to his striking similarity to her husband, Maria secretly enlists Dante to stand in for Johnny, dressing him in similar suits and changing his appearance slightly to reflect some of the criminal’s more notable quirks. She invites him to Palermo for what he thinks will be a small vacation, not being aware of the fact that Maria and Johnny’s consigliere (Paolo Bonacelli) will be introducing him as Johnny to the rival Cozzamara gang, led by the terrifying Don Cozzamara (Ignazio Pappalardo), who is going to relish in eliminating the man who caused him and his family such despair recently. However, despite being a dimwitted fool, Dante has a knack for weaselling himself out of absolutely any situation, and even when he accidentally causes mischief, he tends to only improve his own chance of survival, with every misadventure keeping the gangsters at bay and one step further from reaching their goal – but while he may evade being killed by the mob, he doesn’t do much in preventing causing anger amongst the regular people of Palermo who don’t necessarily appreciate a foolish young man gallivanting around their idyllic region and causing nothing but adorable destruction wherever he goes.

It’s time to reevaluate the work of Roberto Benigni – an icon of Italian entertainment, he’s a multitalented performer who has had his incredible work tainted by a less-than-ideal reputation outside of his home country based on the perceived gaudiness of his most prominent work, Life is Beautiful, a well-meaning comedy that has come to be seen as being too overpraised and showered with undeserving acclaim (not to mention his disastrous attempt to adapt the classic story of Pinnochio into one of the most grotesque works of recent memory, which he has subsequently atoned for with Matteo Garone’s adaptation of the same material). It’s certainly not difficult to understand why Benigni has become something of a relic of the past – he has a comedic style that doesn’t necessarily translate well outside of his culture, and the persona he has adopted (and made sure to insist is based directly on his own quirks, rather than being a character he formed for the sake of entertainment) has been grating to many. It goes without saying that for those agnostic to Benigni’s work, Johnny Stecchino is not going to be the film to convert you, but it’s at least one that can sow the seeds that could get you to realize there is a lot more merit to Benigni’s style than he gets credit for. His popularity in his home country, and particularly at the specific time in which this film was made, has often been attributed to the wildly endearing nature of his comedy, which struck a nerve with his compatriots – and while it may not have received much acclaim at the time outside of Europe, it has aged remarkably well, and seems so much fresher and more insightful today as it did when it was first released. For that reason alone, Johnny Stecchino should at the very least warrant some degree of reevaluation – and while calling this a misunderstood masterpiece seems very ambitious, there is a certain charm in Benigni’s comedic sensibilities that may not appeal to everyone, but for those who appreciate his off-the-wall personality and how he imbues this in every film he made at the time, Johnny Stecchino may be an absolute delight.

Ultimately, it’s important to remember that Benigni is the embodiment of candour – he delivers almost exactly what he promises, and if there’s any reason to appreciate him, both as an artist and a person, it’s that he doesn’t deviate from his defining set of qualities, to the point where we know exactly what to expect from a film that is either made by him, or includes him in the cast in some capacity. Johnny Stecchino is arguably one of his better efforts, especially since it sees him toning down the absurdity in favour of a very strong story – a few years of working with auteurs like Jim Jarmusch and Federico Fellini equipped him with a set of skills that he wove into his work in sometimes unexpected ways, and made him not only an actor who demanded the attention of everyone he encountered (whether this was for better or worse is up to one’s individual interpretation), but also a very ambitious filmmaker that is often seen as having made mindless comedies centred on the same foolish character, but actually carry some heft when we strip them of their bombastic premises and even more far-fetched stylistic quirks. Johnny Stecchino is exactly what Benigni would make, were he to attempt to make a crime film – so expecting anything more seems wishful, and detracts from the many merits that actually do underpin this film, and make it well worth the time of anyone who appreciates the director’s off-kilter brand of comedy. Comedy is always subjective, so what enthrals one isn’t always going to be particularly thrilling for another person – one could argue that the disparate divide between audience popularity and critical reception over the years has signalled that there are certain groups that find a film like Johnny Stecchino better than another. Yet, there’s always value in looking at something so divisive, and it’s truly a pleasure to find that one veers more towards the positive on a film that could have so easily been much worse than it was purported to be.

What is most interesting about a film like Johnny Stecchino is looking at how it uses the peculiar skills of its star to its benefit. Undeniably, Benigni is a committed comedian, and his films often see him playing off his unique set of talents, to the point where he is often aligned with the likes of the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin in playing characters that differ in name and specific details, but are essentially cut from the same cloth as the personas that made them so compelling in the first place. Outside of context, Benigni’s lovable idiot may be grating and cause some chagrin to those who don’t find his brand of comedy funny – yet in a film like Johnny Stecchino, where the actor makes it known that he is going to let loose, it works surprisingly well. The film gives Benigni the chance to play dual roles (which is very common for actors trying to play against type without committing to it entirely through abandoning everything that made them popular), and as a result does see him flexing his skills a bit more than he would in other films. Inarguably, it doesn’t afford him much chance to prove himself to be a true thespian, but rather to have some fun on screen, which has always been the manifesto of nearly all of his films. It also helps that he is acting alongside his wife, Nicoletta Braschi, who manages to match Benigni beat-for-beat, being a formidable screen companion that is able to put a saddle on the energetic actor and reign him in just enough, while also proving herself to be exceptionally gifted in her own right. Braschi is undeniably playing a character that exists more as an object than a fully-formed individual, the quintessential mob moll who trots through the film and causes the downfall of anyone who succumbs to her charm – which makes the gradual development of Maria so endearing, since she proves to be far more than just a stunning presence, but someone who can command the screen in her own right, being a wonderful counterforce to her husband’s more manic personality, creating the perfect balance between the roles.

Benigni is certainly very good in Johnny Stecchino, and not only plays a very charming character who evokes real laughter when he hits his stride, but also imparting a sense of delicate compassion that Benigni doesn’t get enough credit for. Like most of his films, Benigni employs a sense of genuine heartfulness into Johnny Stecchino, which only becomes even more endearing when we see that the director actually cares about the story, and isn’t just tossing in outrageous situations for the sake of it. Far too many filmmakers versed in this kind of slapstick tend to go too far in the hopes that a dizzying amount of hilarious situations will entertain audiences, while Benigni is more focused on showing some restraint, balancing the irreverent humour with a more sardonic edge that seems to be openly commenting on deeper issues, without becoming too weighed down by external commentary. We’re consistently engaged with the film, watching Benigni unravel these situations in a way that feels actually authentic, rather than boldly constructed just for the sake of it. We can see some of these situations coming from miles away – anyone with even the vaguest knowledge of this kind of comedy can see where Benigni is inserting references that will come into play much later for comedic effect. Yet, it never feels like it’s forcing the comedy, and while we do need to suspend disbelief at some points (especially when the story has a few jagged edges that were included clearly to fill up some space), Johnny Stecchino is a relatively entertaining film that doesn’t demand too much from us as a whole. Charming, funny and very meaningful, there isn’t too much that can be said about this film other than it being exactly what we’d expect, and therefore anyone who doesn’t find Benigni’s style all that compelling might not be converted, but it’s one of his stronger efforts, precisely because he understands his limitations, and can play on them with incredible ease.