Yet another spoof rendition of Nero's reign, now in a revue-style approach and featuring both veteran and up-and-coming comic stars: among the former are Aldo Fabrizi as the ageing sleepy-eyed Roman General, also perennially suffering from constipation, ostensibly leading the insurrection against the proverbial mad Emperor, and Paolo Stoppa as an incongruously conniving Saint Peter!; the latter, then, include a none-too-memorable Pippo Franco (nowadays reduced to hosting variety shows on prime-time TV!) in the title role, Enrico Montesano as a dandy-ish entertainer in the latter's service, Gianfranco D'Angelo as a literally iron-fisted General, and "Bombolo" (best-known as Tomas Milian's foil when donning the popular, but decidedly unflattering, guise of "Monnezza") as a patrician-cum-charioteer.
The tone is as predictably bawdy (fashionably reflected even in the set design!) as the overall effect is hit-and-miss (such "anything goes" ventures invariably are): we get an abundance of gratuitous nudity from the actresses (including the aged one playing Agrippina, thus serving the Oedipal complex inherent in her relationship with the Emperor!) – which rather exposes, no pun intended, how much their respective fortunes had fallen in the space of a mere decade – and, for its funniest (if hardly ever inspired) bits, one need perhaps refer to the predictably chaotic – yet typically unproductive – Senate meetings. I am not familiar with the two directors' names (and other work), but it goes without saying that they do not seem overly fond of their country's glorious, albeit controversial, heritage...
The tone is as predictably bawdy (fashionably reflected even in the set design!) as the overall effect is hit-and-miss (such "anything goes" ventures invariably are): we get an abundance of gratuitous nudity from the actresses (including the aged one playing Agrippina, thus serving the Oedipal complex inherent in her relationship with the Emperor!) – which rather exposes, no pun intended, how much their respective fortunes had fallen in the space of a mere decade – and, for its funniest (if hardly ever inspired) bits, one need perhaps refer to the predictably chaotic – yet typically unproductive – Senate meetings. I am not familiar with the two directors' names (and other work), but it goes without saying that they do not seem overly fond of their country's glorious, albeit controversial, heritage...
