L'eredità dello zio: A loud, messy scramble for cash

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, if you have a soft spot for classic Italian farces where everyone is yelling at once, you’ll probably get a kick out of L'eredità dello zio. It isn’t high art, but it has that specific, chaotic energy of people losing their minds over money. If you need your movies to be tight, logical, or particularly polished, you’re going to be annoyed by the first twenty minutes alone.

The whole premise is built on Cav. Favazza being absolutely certain he’s rich. He starts racking up debts like he’s playing with Monopoly money. Watching him realize he has to share the pot with the other Favazza family is… well, it’s a lot of flailing around. It reminded me a bit of the frantic pacing in The Big Hop, where one bad decision just keeps spiraling into another.

The chaotic family dynamic

There is a lot of shouting. Like, a lot of shouting. Angelo Musco is clearly running the show here, and he leans into the desperation of the character so hard that you almost feel bad for him. Almost.

There’s this one scene where he’s trying to look fancy while clearly sweating through his suit. It lingers on his face just a second too long, and you can see him thinking about how he’s going to pay his butcher. It’s those small, panicked moments that actually work better than the big, loud ensemble arguments.

• The pacing is all over the place.
• Some of the supporting cast seems like they’re in a different movie entirely.
• The debt-spending montage is surprisingly relatable if you’ve ever had a bad payday.

It’s not as tightly put together as something like No Trifling with Love, but that’s kind of the point. It feels like a stage play that someone just decided to stick a camera in front of one afternoon. Sometimes the extras look like they’re just waiting for lunch. 🍕

I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but it’s a fun, dusty relic. It doesn't try to be profound, and thank goodness for that. It just wants to see how much trouble one greedy guy can get into. It succeeds at being loud, silly, and just slightly exhausting.

If you’re in the mood for something that doesn't ask you to think too hard, give it a shot. Just don't expect it to change your life or anything.