Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Father Maurice, a priest living in a residential college for priests in Rome, is called out one day to "exorcise" the devil from someone. The devil turns out to be in the form of a fun-loving man called Giuditta. What Father Maurice doesn't know is that this type of devil will turn his life around.
Roberto Benigni and Walter Matthau make an unlikely but charming comedy duo, and their performances are the clear highlight of this Italian-American co-production. Benigni's anarchic physical comedy as the impish devil Giuditta is genuinely inspired and carries much of the film. The plot is a fairly lightweight fish-out-of-water premise that works well enough as a vehicle for the leads but doesn't develop with much depth or surprise. Cinematography is functional and unremarkable, befitting a mid-budget European comedy of the era. The concept of a mischievous devil befriending a stiff priest has novelty in its execution thanks to Benigni's singular comic energy, though the premise itself is not especially original. The ending feels somewhat abrupt and unsatisfying, wrapping up the central relationship without fully earning its emotional resolution.