Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Checco is a young Apulian entrepreneur dreamer who has opened a sushi restaurant in his Apulia. However, after one month, the restaurant went bankrupt and he chose to emigrate to Africa to escape from debt. Here he adapts to being a waiter in a resort in Kenya, but at the outbreak of a civil war he decides to embark on a stowaway trip on a boat for migrants to Europe and chooses to do it with his African friends. However, he would not like to return to Italy, but rather to go to Liechtenstein where banking secrecy is in force and there is a lower tax burden than in Italy.
Tolo Tolo is Checco Zalone's ambitious fourth film, blending broad Italian comedy with a pointed satire on the migration crisis. The premise is inventively self-aware — a bumbling Italian becoming the 'migrant' — and Zalone's musical numbers (particularly the opening song) garnered attention for their sharp satirical bite. However, the plot becomes uneven as it oscillates between slapstick and social commentary without fully committing to either. The acting is competent but uneven beyond Zalone's charismatic lead performance. Cinematography is workmanlike, serviceable but unremarkable for the Kenyan and African settings which deserved more visual ambition. The ending feels rushed and somewhat deflating given the setup's potential. The film broke Italian box office records on opening day, suggesting strong crowd appeal even if critical reception was more mixed.