Dysfunctional families....many people have them but the Italian family presented in the film “La Bellezza Del Somaro” really takes the cake. This comedic film is filled with craziness and laughs along the way while trying to find some common ground and understanding of what is really important in life.

Marcello is living a good life. He has a stable career as an architect and a successful and beautiful wife named Marina. This along with good friends and a lovely house in the Tuscan countryside makes Marcello look like he’s got it all. Looks can be deceiving. Behind closed doors, his teenaged daughter Rosa is experiencing teen angst and cannot stand her parents. To add to the drama, she is dating a pothead named Luca. Marcello and Marina are relieved to hear that Rosa hooked up with a new guy and plans to bring him to the house over the weekend get together that they are planning for friends and family. Little do they know that they are in for the shock of their lives. Her new boyfriend’s presence is going to unravel all kinds of hypocrisies and double standards and will be a catalyst for the learning of everyone present at the get-together.

Keeping steady laughs from start to finish can be quite challenging for filmmakers but this film managed quite well. Sergio Castellito did a good job directed, co-writing and playing one of the lead roles in the film. Aside from lots of sarcastic comments that make for a lot of the comedic situations, the film also had an overall good cast and some surprising twists amidst all the chaos and the bickering between many of the characters. This is one of the better comedies that I have seen in quite some time.