American Comedy Films Analysis

A Contrast of American and Italian Comedy Films

Ari Mont

IS 220 - Prof. Bini There is no prototypical film from any part of the world, let alone ones with such illustrious histories as the United States and Italy. Yet, because filmmaking is an art that is so dependent on borrowing cinematographic and writing styles from those nearby, it is inevitable that some patterns will emerge. This essay will take a look at two films from the same time and the same genre, one American and one Italian, to discover where the differences are and where similarities exist. Despite both being comedy films that premiered two years apart, Billy Wilder’s Avanti! and Franco Brusati’s Pane e Cioccolata exhibit some very different stylistic and writing

In order to present himself as the important businessman that he his, he sits down next to an older man, whispers something that cannot be heard into his ear, and the two head into the plane’s small bathroom together. This draws the attention of the entire flight, as they and the audience are led to believe some sort of Mile High Club situation is taking place. The two men exit the bathroom after they have swapped clothes to see the entire flight staring at them. The joke is not done at this point. Billy Wilder piles on the already absurd situation at the customs desk. Wendell is unable to enter Italy since, when he switched clothes with the man, they also accidentally switched passports. The customs officer calls for the police to take Wendell away until the other man already being dragged by the police appears and the two can resolve the issue. This American-style joke creates a ridiculous predicament that the character must navigate and from which the audience can get a

Charlie Chaplin’s slapstick style comedy can be seen seeping in while Nino is at work in the restaurant. He and the Turk, his rival and direct competition for the sole permanent waiter position trade tricks in order to make the other look bad. Nino is sly, making it appear as if he is helping the Turk while he is carrying a large bag of linens. In actuality, Nino guides him through the wrong set of doors which lets the Turk out into the street. The Turk is much more crude, stealing the meat cart away from Nino behind his back. Of course this does not end well for the Turk, as he flings a piece of meat of his fork onto the plate of a