Checco Zalone takes everyone back to the cinema, but the trip is only half convincing

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After 5 years since the last film, Good Way officially debuts in theaters during the Christmas period, awaited by a very faithful audience with equally high expectations. Checco Zalone’s latest film, Tolo Tolo (2020), had divided audiences and critics but had nevertheless confirmed a certainty: Zalone had never really missed a shot. For this reason, expectations were very high. Not only for the film itself, but for what it represents: the ability, now very rare, to bring the public back to the cinema during the holidays, fill the theaters and bring back that slightly nostalgic feeling of the film to see at Christmas as a collective ritual.

And in fact the mission, at least from this point of view, seems successful. Full room, audience ready to laugh, first lines that workrecognizable comic timing, that Zalone way of making people uncomfortable and drawing immediate laughter. Yet, almost without realizing it, a strange sensation creeps in. It’s not annoyance, it’s not immediate disappointment. It’s more a slight sense of dissatisfaction that accompanies the viewer from beginning to end. Good Way it’s fun, sure. But it doesn’t leave a mark like the previous ones. It’s not the lack of political incorrectness, nor well-placed gags. It’s rather the feeling that the film is moving quickly, confidently, perhaps too convinced that the name of Checco Zalone is enough to get to your destination.

Buen Camino, the review of Checco Zalone’s film: an internal journey that remains too predictable

The plot of Good Way revolves around a new long-haired Checco, a very rich fifty-year-old, spoiled and completely disconnected from reality. He lives immersed in luxury, ostentation and in a bubble of privilege and maintenance, fueled by emotional irresponsibility. Her world of sequins and parties is shaken when his daughter Crystal disappears. For Checco this is a hard blow, and not because of concern about the disappearance, but rather a narcissistic wound and competition towards his ex-wife’s new partner, who is also involved in the search.

It is precisely pride that leads Checco to chase Crystal, determined to complete the Camino de Santiago. From this moment the film will begin to develop, a classic road movie that exploits the most classic narrative of the hero’s journey. A path made of obstacles, limits and finally teaching and morals. Each stage of the journey will lead the character, Checco, to a small changeforced by the renunciation of comforts, and the rediscovered love towards his daughter and life, the real one.

Strong themes and writing that never sinks its punch

Let’s be clear, Good Way it works on a technical and more superficial level, but he seems to be holding back from that boom to which he has always accustomed us. Of course, there is no shortage of laughs and they are precisely those typical of Checco Zalone: ​​direct and politically incorrect jokes, the latter type was highly criticized due to the gags on Gaza or on topics such as the Holocaust. But the point is not what is said, but what is never really explored in depth. The themes addressed are strong: the father-daughter relationship, the void of superficiality and materialism, social hypocrisy, obsession with image. However, none of these are really developed or taken to extremes.

The plot flows very quickly, without real moments of friction, or in any case they are too short and resolved with extreme ease, the emotional passages are predictable and the ending it can be understood well in advance, almost at the beginning we dare say. There is never the feeling that Checco could really take a wrong turn, get lost or question himself. Even the catchphrases, which have always been one of Zalone’s strong points, fail to impress this time. After the iconic moments of “Angela”, the songs of Good Way, including Inflammation of the prostate and other musical inserts, they are weak, not very memorable, almost in passing. They don’t stay in your head and don’t become part of your imagination.

The inevitable comparison between Buen Camino and Checco Zalone’s other successes

The main limitation of Good Way inevitably emerges in comparison with the great successes of Checco Zalone. Movies like Where am I going?, Sunshine o What a beautiful day they had an ability to entertain that made them iconic and almost untouchable, a lucid wickedness that made every laugh even a small slap in the face to the viewer. Needless to say, all this in Good Way you don’t even notice it. This is not because Zalone has become harmless or a victim of mainstream cinema, but because he seems to have rested on his laurels. As if the awareness of being able to fill the rooms had taken away the urgency of the story. The room laughs, yes, but in a more composed way. It doesn’t explode.

The characters of Good Way they work, but almost all of them remain within already known and recognizable roles. We have already spoken extensively about Checco Zalone, but his daughter Cristal never really emerges: young, distant from her father’s ostentation, she represents a more sober and counter-trend generation, but remains functional to the plot. The secondary characters, including the encounters along the Path, are above all useful as a comic sidekick or as a narrative stimulus, without leaving a significant imprint. With a small exception for Alma.

The ending (without spoilers) of Buen Camino: a safe choice and little room for risk

And then we come to the finale. The epilogue lands exactly where you expect it towithout surprises and without sudden deviations. It goes without saying that this very prudence refers us to the most obvious comparison with Checco Zalone’s most successful titles: Where am I going?capable of dividing and causing discussion while remaining very popularo Tolo Toloimperfect and chaotic, but at least willing to push beyond the comfort zone. This doesn’t mean that Good Way is a misstep. On the contrary, It’s a well-crafted comedydesigned to appeal to a wide audience and conquer the box office. The problem, if anything, is his lack of ability to leave a mark. Once you leave the room, there is little left.

In short, Zalone’s path moves forward without stumbles, but also without deviations. And perhaps it is precisely this linearity, more than any obvious defect, that makes it worthwhile Good Way a minor work within a career that has accustomed us to much more.

Vote: 7/10

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