My Friends (1976)

That was an excellent one.

A Disappointing Continuation

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

This is a terrific film and probably one of the sweetest, funniest comedies ever made. The fearsome foursome never miss an opportunity to make a total mess of established society, all in the name of a good time. Nothing is sacred and anyone can become an instant, impromptu victim or their pranks. The scene at the train station is by far my favourite, and just the thought of the old guys lining up to slap people straight in the face makes me want to laugh out loud. See this film wherever you can, it's heartwarming and hilarious.If only it were more accessible so that younger generations could enjoy this!

Hello from Barcelona again This movie is very good. Actors play an excellent role. Ugo Tognazzi and Philippe Noiret are the best ones. Italian humor is present all the movie. I can't explain with the correct words how good is this movie. I have it in Catalan, my language. The 2nd part is very good but I think the best is the 1st one. Guido Necchi (played by Duilio del Prete) didn't act in the 2nd part. We have Renzo Montagnani who plays a good job but not better than Duilio del Prete. You can see Rambaldo Melandri (Gastone Moschin) in The godfather part 2. He is the old man dressed in white suit who Robert DeNiro shoot with a gun while there is the crowd in the street. Adolfo Celi does an excellent role too, very funny. Also in the 2n part. There is a 3rd part with Ugo Tognazzi, Renzo Montagnani, Adolfo Celi and Gastone Moschin. Philippe Noiret wasn't here (only in 1st and 2nd part). This 3rd part is not so good but it is interesting anyway. We can see Bernard Blier again, who did the role of Niccolo Righi in the first part, the old man who in the first moment believes sugar is drug... You can find the three parts in Internet, in Emule (look for Amici miei). The sound is Italian and very interesting. The 1st part longs around 20 minutes more than the first edition of the film, and shows very funny scenes with the 5 men and Niccolo Righi. There is a pack with the trilogy in DVD in Italy. And I think it should be a 4th disc with deleted scenes, interviews and more. But I think there were some problems and now it is hard to find it. Finally you can enjoy watching Ugo Tognazzi and Philippe Noiret together in the Marco Ferreri film La grande bouffe. I hope there is someday a DVD with English subtitles for all of you. Enjoy! Joan Barcelona

Italian comedy has never been as pure and simple as in Amici Miei. Many Italian comedic actors have taken inspiration from this gem. Unfortunately, this movie is not available to the greater audiences in the US. I saw this movie when it was released and many times after that. Grazie, Mario!

Perhaps if Pietro Germi had had the opportunity to direct his own script, this one might have turned out differently. Unfortunately, he died before that could happen, after quite a distinguished, if generally unheralded, career.Without him at the helm, we are left with something that is just plain offensive. From the get-go.There are a tiny handful of films I've ever walked out of. "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS" comes to mind. I'd had one gratuitous torture scene too many in that instance.I walked out of this ostensible comedy after 80 minutes, during the "fun-filled" suicide scene. I remember that there was a laugh during the film's first half hour although it seems hard to believe that there were any at all in retrospect.Philippe Noiret is in the cast. He's a personal favourite and usually a reliable judge of material. His faith in this script was misplaced.Noiret is involved in what should have been one of the film's "subtle" moments. The four old buddies, the central characters, sing the quartet from Verdi's Rigoletto. (The song is not identified as such. It's an Italian movie so there's no need to.) Then later Noiret sports a fake hump on his back just like the tragic court jester. Obviously someone (Germi?) had a gag in mind at this point, but no connection is made between the two incidents. It's just dead, like the rest of the film.The four buddies are the central characters and the central problem. As we get to know them, they turn out to be malicious jerks -- sort of the middle-aged Jerky Boys of Italy -- and they are soon enough joined by a fifth halfwit.I regret to say that these loutish characters like some of the same things I do, like Cynar and finocchio. That's about the only thing they have to their credit.Director Mario Monicelli recycles one of Germi's old sight gags. During a caper, one of the four, the crudest of the "funnymen", Ugo Tognazzi, is seen reading a copy of "Famiglia Cristiana" magazine. Ha, ha. That particular incongruity was tastefully funny back when Germi was directing, in "Seduced and Abandoned" (1964), I think it was. Not here.The screening did receive steady laughs throughout, most noticeably from the two fellows of questionable taste behind me. But I noticed the room had a lot of other laugh-free zones, not just mine.This one is sour, and negative, and extremely misogynistic. You really have to have a grudge against the fair sex to derive any pleasure from this film.