He killed it in Sydney Sibilia’s ‘Smetto Quando Voglio (I Can Quit When I Want), and he’s getting ready for the sequel.
Meet Stefano Fresi, the new face of Italian comedy. Follow him on Twitter!
In the first few minutes of young director Sydney Sibilia’s ‘Smetto Quando Voglio’ ( I Can Quit When I Want), I thought, “Oh wow, they’re ripping off ‘Breaking Bad!’ “; but I was wrong. Smetto Quando Voglio is a hilarious comedy and a story all it’s own. ‘Breaking Bad’s’ Walter and ‘Smetto Quando Voglio’s’ Pietro are in the same boat; two frustrated college professors who are highly educated and bright but can’t get ahead decide to use their knowledge of chemistry to make money.
Pietro sees an opportunity. He’s sure he can design his own drug; one that has none of the substances that are banned by the Italian government. It’s still illegal to sell what he comes up with, but that’s a minor technicality.
His criminal organization is in need of other skills, so he rounds up all his out of work friends, from a math genius to chemists to help him, and at first, it’s as if they have struck gold. Stefano Fresi is hilarious as Pietro’s buddy, a chemist, who enjoys the success a little too much.
Fresi just turned 40 and lives in Rome with his companion and a son, and he tells me that he loves to cook. Since the success of Smetto Quando Voglio his career has been on fire, starring in the comedy of the year, Noi e la Giulia, and the Christmas time favorite, Ogni Maledetto Natale.
Will lightning strike twice for the sequel of Smetto Quando Voglio? Time will tell; the filming will start in the fall.
As for the original Smetto Quando Voglio, our city, Cleveland Ohio, has it on the lineup for our 2015 Italian Film Festival, Thursday Sept. 24, 7:30 pm at the Cedar Lee Theatre. Call for tickets: 216-456-8117.
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