Review ‘Mica è Colpa Mia’: A lie for no one’s good

Director: Umberto Carteni | Script: Caterina Salvadori and Ciro Zecca | Cast: Antonio Folletto (Vito), Laura Adriani (Marina), Vicenzo Nemolato (Antone), Saverio Picozzi/Vicenzo Picozzi (Napoleon), ea | Playing time: 101 minutes| Year: 2025

Misunderstanding or lying is a welcome feature in many romantic comedies. Sooner or later the lie, whether white or not, comes to light, creating a turning point that ultimately results in a good outcome. Even the biggest liars have gotten away with it in the movie business. For brother Vito and Antone in the Italian romkom. it’s not my fault It is even a real scam.

For those who still have doubts about whether this is a romantic comedy: the English title of Umberto Carteni’s seventh feature film is The love scam. So you know. We are introduced to the single father Vito, who has baptized his son Napoleon without any pretense. He has to make ends meet and holds down an undesirable job as a cleaner in a restaurant.

Brother Antone is not much better: he defrauds buyers by selling fake smartphones. The couple lives in a run-down apartment in Naples that is leaky and infested with vermin. All the neighbors have left. When it turns out that Antone owes an indirect debt of half a hundred thousand euros to a developer and the two are in danger of being evicted from their home, he has no choice but to completely arrest the head of the company. With lies.

it’s not my fault Chaos immediately begins and not only because of the noise of the Italian language. At first, Vito seems to be the most responsible of the group, but under the influence of his brother he is willing to make a big fuss with Marina. The ease with which this is done evokes both disbelief and a feeling of implausibility. Not only do the writers put little effort into portraying realistic events, they go all out when it comes to character development.

We don’t really get to understand the background and motivations of the two brothers. Well, they are mentioned lightly – the building they live in was founded by their father and they are in debt – but how the two of them ended up in this situation and how their mutual dynamics work doesn’t seem to interest the writer. The viewer is immediately immersed in the hustle and bustle; A storm that will never subside.

Marina’s deception, which begins by stealing her cell phone at a charity gala, goes smoothly. The woman does not suspect for a moment when Vito, under a false name, is constantly in front of her. You throw it at an annoying stalker, but then effortlessly accept all of his lies. Especially when there is a gigantic dinner to prepare and Marina puts on her cooking apron, all credit is lost.

Because you, as the viewer, find yourself in the middle of the hustle and bustle, this Italian romantic comedy doesn’t get off to a good start. The obligatory scenes of Vito and Marina hanging out doing fun things together seem trite. On the surface, the always-stressed Marina only seems to let her hair down when she’s completely relaxed. Three guesses who moves her to do this, but it goes unnoticed.

Mica and Guilpal can be seen in netflix.