AmeriQua
AmeriQua | |
---|---|
Directed by | Giovanni Consonni, Marco Bellone |
Written by |
|
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Marco Bassano |
Edited by | Consuelo Catucci |
Music by | Lucio Dalla |
Production companies | Jabadoo, Man In Hat[2] |
Distributed by |
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Release dates | |
Running time | 99 minutes[3] |
Countries | Italy, US |
Languages | English, Italian[4] |
Budget | €3,488,804[5]–€4,000,000[6] |
Box office | €26,500 (Italy) |
AmeriQua (retitled EuroTrapped for home media and streaming) is a 2012 Italian-American romantic comedy[1] road movie[6][7][8] filmed in English and Italian,[4] directed by Giovanni Consonni and Marco Bellone, their debut feature,[9] starring Bobby Kennedy III, who also wrote the original screenplay, loosely based on his experiences during his time in Italy.[10] The film's ensemble cast includes Alessandra Mastronardi, Eva Amurri, Alec Baldwin, and Giancarlo Giannini, as well as non-professional actors.
Plot
Charlie (Bobby Kennedy) is an American hard-partying slacker and recent college graduate whose wealthy parents (Alec Baldwin and Catherine Mary Stewart) cut him off with a cheque for $5000 and an ultimatum to get a job. Instead, eager to explore Europe, he buys a plane ticket to Italy. On the plane, he meets the self-proclaimed "King" of Bologna, Lele (Lele Gabellone), who tells him he is welcome to stay with him, also making a strong impression by joining the mile high club with the woman he just met, Alessia (Valentina Correani ).
Just out of the airport in Rome, Charlie is accosted and robbed by three Neapolitan mafia men: Vito (Vito Facciolla), Jaroslav (Matteo Azchirvani ), and "Il Nero" (Edoardo Pesceas ). Charlie manages to get away from them, fleeing in their pickup truck. Not knowing what else to do (he speaks no Italian and has nowhere to go), he heads to Bologna to take the "King" up on his offer.
Lele takes Charlie under his wing and introduces him to his eccentric group of friends, like Badoo (
Thanks to Charlie's swaggering immaturity and some cultural misunderstanding, he incurs the wrath of
Cast
- Main
- Bobby Kennedy III as Charlie Edwards
- Alessandra Mastronardi as Valentina
- Eva Amurri as Vicky
- Lele Gabellone as Lele
- Alec Baldwin as Mr. Edwards
- Giancarlo Giannini as Don Cesare Ferracane
- Matteo Azchirvani as Jaroslav
- Gianluca Bazzoli as Badoo
- Michele Bottini as Sergio
- Valentina Correani as Alessia
- Antonia Dell'Atte as Vittoria Ferracane
- Vito Facciolla as Vito
- Marin Jo Finerty as Elsy
- Jeanene Fox as Jenny
- Ernesto Mahieux as Don Farina
- Edoardo Pesceas as Il Nero
- Giuseppe Sanfelice as Il Pisa
- Enrico Silvestrin as Carmine
- Supporting
- Catherine Mary Stewart as Mrs. Edwards
- Prentice Onayemi as Heavy Williams
- Alberto Tonti as Mr. Whittaker
- Matteo Taranto as Giampaolo
- Debora Antonacci as Elena
- Elliott Brooks as Mrs. Edwards Assistant
- Marc Scrivo as Mrs. Edwards Assistant
- Patrizio Farinacci as Giulietta's Driver
- Moreno Mari as Man Had His Bike Stolen
- Massimo Scarpati as Naples Fruiterer
- Mario Bellini as Restaurant Waiter
- Susanna Giaroli as Disco's Hostess
- Sveva Alviti as Blonde Girl
- Rajae Bezzaz as Blonde Barmaid
- Giulia Sancassani • Ilaria Calza • Genny Silvestrin • Elisa Scheffler as Handmaids
- Yann Grappe • Michail Mauracher • Emile Noharet • Angelo Pezzano • Erick Sangnidjo as French Football Team
- Imperatore Luigi • Maria Tesoro • Gaia Bonfante • Rosaria Bonfante • Fabrizio De Felice as Gypsies
Production
Background and writing
Robert (Bobby) Kennedy III began writing at a young age, winning an award for a screenplay for a
Marco Gualtieri's friendship with the
Development and financing
Kennedy's original screenplay was in English, but it evolved into a
I was involved later, and together with Bobby we worked on mixing our styles, our respective insanity, rewriting everything and enjoying ourselves like crazy. The macaronic English of the Italians is a principal component. It's an explosive, ungrammatical, rough comedy and full of stereotypes that we enjoyed playing with.[4]
For the project, Gualteri's Jabadoo
Casting and characters
Casting began in September 2009.[19] Marco Gualtieri is quoted as saying that, with the exception of the "bad guys", all the other characters are based on real individuals from Kennedy's experience in Bologna.[12] In addition, Kennedy was not the only actor playing a fictional version of himself. Charlie's love interest Vicky is played by fellow New Yorker Eva Amurri, who studied alongside Kennedy in Bologna.[12]
Marin Jo Finerty, who plays Vicky's best friend, Elsy, is an American who came to Italy to study at the age of 14, and called her character "a little bit of a bitch" and a precisina.
Badoo (portrayed by
Vito Facciolla, who had played criminals before in non-comedic films, said the directors chose him,
Michele Bottini, who played Sergio, steward at Don Ferracane's restaurant, was also the film's acting coach; Kennedy and Gabellone spent a few weeks at his house in Varese, where he instructed them on "stage presence, annunciation and spritz drinking".[28]
The film owes Alec Baldwin's cameo appearance to his friendship with Kennedy's father Robert F. Kennedy Jr.[8] Glenn Close was reportedly cast to play his wife and Charlie's mother,[19][29] the role ultimately going to Catherine Mary Stewart.
Set design and props
Difficult scenes from a design point of view were Valentina's birthday party, Lele's house, the university dormitory, and the
Filming
AmeriQua was shot on
The final scene to be filmed, which happens to be the opening scene of the film itself, the exterior of Wagner College, was shot in early December in freezing temperatures, whereas the action is supposed to be taking place in July, with the actors in T-shirts; post-production CGI would be used to add leaves to the trees.[34] Scenes set in the US which did not have to be filmed on location were filmed in Italy, for example, those with Alberto Tonti.[30]
Music
Singer and songwriter
The production blog's hundreds of posts finally had more minutes of video than AmeriQua itself. Nearly all of the video was taken by Sacha Cesana, and then edited by Simona Ruggeri,[38] and eventually posted on YouTube.
In the US, Alec Baldwin promoted the film in an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman on 25 February 2013.[39]
Release
AmeriQua had its world premiere in
Home media
AmeriQua was released on DVD under the title EuroTrapped by Screen Media on 17 September 2013, described on DiscDish as "a strange little English-language production from Italy... with a lot of money behind it".[45] Screen Media also released it on Blu-ray on 9 December 2015.[46]
Streaming
As Eurotrapped, the film was available for streaming on Netflix[47] until October 2015.[48] The film is available on Amazon Prime and iTunes, also as EuroTrapped.[49][50]
Reception
Commercial performance
AmeriQua did very poorly following its opening weekend in Italy, which saw the film take €23,134,[51] the bulk of its final gross, €26,500.[52]
Critical response
The review aggregator on the Italian website MyMovies.it assigns a rating of 2.28/5 for AmeriQua based on fifteen reviews and other notices.[53]
While it was evident that the filmmakers had very good intentions, for Alessandro Antinori, the film is disappointingly "amateurish", the product of a rough script and banal dialogue, particularly as delivered by the non-professional protagonists, Kennedy and Gabellone, and the Italian dubbing was even more embarrassing.
Massimo Bertarelli opines that the film is a bizarre and weird comedy, but at the same time a feel-good and almost "polite" story.[56] Giorgio Carbone called the film a sincere light comedy: while Kennedy is no Marlon Brando, he is assuredly better than Nicolas Vaporidis.[57] Eugenia Paolucci felt there were too many clichés in the film, but she still called AmeriQua a tender portrait of the nation,[58] and one sympathetic reviewer called the film "hilarious".[59]
References
- ^ a b c d "The Little Film Company". The Business of Film. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ "ManInHat". Facebook. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ a b "AmeriQua". cinema.ilsole24ore.com (in Italian). Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "Matteo Bortolotti". Italicissima. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ a b Nervo, Maristella (2013). Film funding in a time of crisis: What is the public film-funding orientation in times of crisis and is the funding of non-mainstream projects of any benefit to the audience?. [Copenhagen]: [publisher not identified]. p. 14. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Rigatelli, Francesco (25 October 2010). "Nella Bologna del ragùl'ultimo Kennedy trova l'Ameriqua". La Stampa Spettacoli (in Italian). Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ ""Ameriqua", il road movie firmato Kennedy". La Stampa (in Italian). 18 March 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Tamberlich, Nicoletta. "Bobby Kennedy III, Italia e mia 'Ameriqua'". ANSA (in Italian). Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "AmeriQua". RadioCinema (in Italian). Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Bobby Kennedy III filming "Ameriqua"". Barga News. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ Fayhee, M. John (16 September 2018). "Action: 'Battle for Aspen' finally in production". Aspen Daily News. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Antinori, Alessandro (interviewer) (12 May 2013). "AmeriQua: un Kennedy scopre l'America in Italia". We the Italians (in Italian). Retrieved 15 April 2019.
{{cite journal}}
:|first1=
has generic name (help) - ^ Sealover, Ed (15 December 2016). "Kennedy grandson to shoot film about Hunter S. Thompson's sheriff campaign in Colorado". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ Roberts, Michael. "Bobby Kennedy III to Shoot Hunter S. Thompson Movie in Colorado". West Word. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ Huffington Post. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d Vivarelli, Nick (25 September 2010). "Kennedy scion crafts laughs Robert F. Kennedy III writes, stars in 'AmeriQua' comedy". Variety. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ a b "AmeriQua: trailer, foto e poster per un americano a Bologna come Bobby Kennedy III". Cine Blog (in Italian). 9 March 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ a b Bassano, Marco (interiewee). "AmeriQua – Interview with Marco Bassano [English subtitles]" (video). YouTube (in Italian). Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ a b c Lombardi, Francesca (interviewer) (26 September 2009). "RFK: The grandson of Senator Robert tells about his Italy. In the Kennedy style". Firenze: Made in Tuscany. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
{{cite journal}}
:|first1=
has generic name (help) - ^ "AmeriQua – Interview with Marin Jo Finerty (w/subtitles)" (video). YouTube. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ a b "AmeriQua's Diary – VIP Bologna". YouTube. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ "Sveva premiere dame". Terza Pagina (in Italian). 19 May 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "AmeriQua's Diary – When it rains..." YouTube. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ "AmeriQua – Behind the Scenes Style – Runway Passport". YouTube. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "AmeriQua – Interview with Vito Facciolla" (video). YouTube. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ "AmeriQua – Interview with Matteo Azchirvani" (video). YouTube. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ a b "AmeriQua – Interview with Edoardo Pesce" (video). YouTube. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ "AmeriQua – Acting Coach – Available for Hire" (video). YouTube. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ Lynch, Donal (31 October 2010). "The sun sets on Camelot". Irish Independent. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "AmeriQua – On the Scene" (video). YouTube. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d "AmeriQua – Interview with Alessandra Mastronardi" (video). YouTube. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "Eurotrapped (first feature)". Film Italia. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ a b "AmeriQua interview with Fabrizio Procaccini" (video). YouTube. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ "Ameriqua just for fun". YouTube. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ Spagnoli, Marco (a cura di). "Intervista a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. III e Lele Gabellone per il film Ameriqua" (video). YouTube (in Italian). Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ "AmeriQua – AmeriQua's diary camera car". YouTube. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ "Marco Sbarbati – I Don't Wanna Start (AmeriQua Soundtrack)" (video). YouTube. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ "AmeriQua – Interview with Riccardo Pintus" (video). YouTube. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ "Late Show with David Letterman". Episode Data. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ "AMERIQUA International World Premiere In Berlin Today". ymlp.com. The Little Film Company. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "Cinema: Federica Torti, Bobby Kennedy ed Alba Parietti sul red carpet del film Ameriqua". Free MilanoPress News Italia (in Italian). 15 March 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "Ameriqua, il nuovo film di Alessandra Mastronardi con le musiche di Lucio Dalla". cinema.excite.it (in Italian). 11 March 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ "Sul red carpet del film Ameriqua Federica Torti, Bobby Kennedy ed Alba Parietti". Bon Vivre (in Italian). 18 March 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ "AmeriQua, il nuovo Film con Alec Baldwin". Cassandra Magazine (in Italian). 14 May 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "DVD Release: EuroTrapped". Disc Dish. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "Eurotrapped Blu-ray". Blu-ray. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- Denver Post. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "Expired Titles: October 2015". Whats Expiring on Netflix Soon?. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ "Eurotrapped". Amazon. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- Apple, Inc.24 September 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ "Storico Incassi Italia AmeriQua". MovieTele (in Italian). Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Box Office Italia 2013". CineMAppazzone (in Italian). Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "AmeriQua". mymovies.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ a b Antinori, Alessandro. "Recensione AmeriQua (2013)". movieplayer.it (in Italian). Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ Usai, Giancarlo. "AmeriQua di Marco Bellone, Giovanni Consonni". OndaCinema.it. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- ^ Bertarelli, Massimo (16 May 2013). "[AmeriQua review]". Il Giornale (in Italian).
- ^ Carbone, Giorgio (16 May 2013). "[AmeriQua review]". Libero (in Italian).
- ^ Paolucci, Eugenia. "Bologna and the Cinema". Bologna Welcome. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "AmeriQua, le avventure di un laureando americano a Bologna". cinema.fanpage.it (in Italian). 2 March 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
External links
- Official trailer on Vimeo
- Official trailer (Italian) on YouTube
- Script (English) on Scripts
- AmeriQua on MyMovies.it
- AmeriQua at IMDb
- AmeriQua at Rotten Tomatoes