3.5/5

Review by John P. Harvey.

Gerri (Vincenzo Salemme) lives with his daughter, Federica (Ana Caterina Morariu), and son-in-law, Ernesto (Luca Angeletti), and their three children. He contributes unstintingly to raising his grandchildren, and the household works well.

Part of the secret to Gerri’s apparent success, though, is that the children humour him. Caught up in their electronic world, they don’t truly respect or comprehend his values or their opportunities to learn the woodworking and other skills he diligently shows them.

So when their paternal grandfather, Tom (Max Tortora), arrives, meets his grandchildren for the first time, and, in the absence of the children’s parents, offers fun without boundaries, Tom instantly becomes the children’s preferred grandfather, and makes Gerri by contrast seem an old-fashioned spoilsport.

The “war” between the grandfathers escalates from there, and as against Tom’s long experience in captivating any audience, Gerri’s only assets are his steadfastness in acting on principle and the oddly contrasting quirky advice of a new friend, delivery driver Gaetano (Herbert Ballerina).

This asymmetry manifests in the means available to the two men. Tom aims to become the favourite of everybody, from the kids to the next-door neighbour, Viki (Bianca Guaccero), whom Gerri is clearly fond of. All Tom need do is act the part of everybody’s best friend. By contrast, for Gerri the conflict concerns prioritising such values as good nutrition, honesty, integrity, and proper education over that of instant gratification. The means available to him to promote these principles depend themselves on an ability to penetrate superficial appearances.

In this sense, the film has an underwhelming resolution, in that it doesn’t resolve the clash in values; and the deceptions that Tom has employed remain largely successful in their intended effect. Nonetheless, with faultless performances throughout, including the children’s, this tale of an innocent grandfather wronged by a beguiling competitor is funny throughout, its humour enriched by Gaetano’s unpredictability. Even if you wouldn’t want your children to embody Tom’s values, for adults it’s a good laugh.

Screening at Palace cinemas.