4/5

Review by Michele E. Hawkins.

Pio (Pio D’Antini), a bumbling, rather incompetent solicitor, suddenly finds himself responsible for his late father’s several businesses, the management of which he is utterly unsuited for. In addition, driven by his ambitious wife, Borromea (Francesca Valtorta), and her parents, Pio is standing for election as the town mayor. The local priest, realising that Pio will be in need of a driver, organises one for him: Amedeo (Amedeo Grieco), a recently released convict. In contrast to Pio’s obedience and timidity in the face of every new event, Amedeo is outrageous, irrepressible, and ready to embrace everything that comes along.

Without his powerful father, but with the ebullient Amedeo by his side as he faces the frightening worlds of business and politicking, how could Pio possibly go wrong?

This unlikely pair, seemingly worlds apart, ends up taking a journey together of self discovery: a journey on which Pio inflicts his poor singing upon Amedeo and Amedeo demands courage of Pio.

Pio D’Antini and Amedeo Grieco, the comedy duo famous for the television series “Emigratis” as well as previous feature films, continue to be the perfect foils for each other’s characters in Life’s A Beach. Taking us with often sublime cinematography from Pio’s magnificent family villa via the spectacular coastal roads to sparking seaside marinas and some rather less glamorous locales, Life’s a Beach places Pio and Amedeo in unpredictable predicaments, with spontaneous life-changing decisions leading to spectacular messes through which Pio overcomes his inner obstacles and Amedeo is finally pushed to his limits.

Lighthearted, with a gentle touch of pathos, Life’s A Beach is a tonic worth taking.