An absolute waste of money

A lot of fun.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

La Mortadella is a quirky and charming comedy from the great Mario Monicelli ("Big Deal on Madonna Street.") Sophia Loren is in fine form as a bride-to-be bringing a mortadella (pig salami) into the United States as a wedding present for her intended. Unfortunately, US Customs didn't allow foreign meats to be brought into the country for fear of disease. Sophia rails against the pettiness of the law, refuses to surrender the salami, and gets her 15 minutes of fame thanks to manic reporter William Devane. The business with the salami gets resolved about halfway through the movie, which then settles into a remake of the old Ginger Rogers vehicle "Tom, Dick and Harry." Sophia has to choose among her estranged fiancé, Devane, or an amorous customs inspector. Monicelli, a confirmed Socialist, pokes some good-natured fun at American capitalism and culture before resolving the romantic matrix in an unsurprising way. I can't say I was surprised by Sophie's choice, but I was mildly disappointed.Still, it's a lot of fun, if a bit slow paced for modern tastes, and there are good performances from the leads (although Devane is a bit over the top)and amusing cameos by future first stringers like Danny De Vito and Susan Sarandon. Even seeing it in a badly faded print couldn't ruin it. 8 out of 10. Recommended.

I disagree with any negative comments about this film. This film is special because the majority of the plot takes place in one location, a U.S. immigration area of an airport(NY I think). The film was so engaging, that I had not thought of where the scenes had taken place until after I had seen the film. Also, I saw the film in spoken Italian with English subtitles, while I was living in Italy. I was self-teaching myself the Italian language while I lived there, and found this a handy way to enhance my listening skills.The fact that the whole film revolves around a 'Mortadella', and that it is eaten within a day or so, thus bringing an end to the reason the character is being held in customs is hysterical! It is a great portrayal of how a country (American isn't the only one!) will maintain and abide by laws that are simply absurd and not practical. With every rule there is usually some exception to it that has not yet been thought of. And this film very comically displays such an example.I highly recommend this film, but not to one with a short attention span, as there are no car chases. This film will entertain anyone who is patient and can appreciate cultural differences, a great actress such as Sofia Loren, and perhaps a bit of Salami, Pastrami, Bologna or even Mortadella. (Make sure you have this when watching the film. Trust me, you will get hungry.) I also recommend it is viewed in the original Italian Language with English subtitles, as so much can be lost through dubbing.I look forward to watching more 'old' Sophia Loren movies, they are very entertaining.Thanks for reading.Marie

Mario Monicelli (b. 1916), the great comedy director who has been convulsing Italian audiences for over 5 decades, directs Sophia Loren on this caustic caricature on aspects of the American culture, like the "religious" enforcement of some funny laws such as the one - now revoked- that used to ban the import of Italian salami on the grounds that it could kill North Americans, the American government phobia for any bad press image, the workaholism of some people who needs lots of Scotch to fight off stress and than lots of "waking pills" to turn on again, as well as the dilemma and drama of a recently arrived Italian immigrant who tries to renegade his own cultural habits to become "a good American". Sophia Loren acts just great in this movie. As a word of caution, I would say that "comedies don't get exported" and only a few Americans who possess a very fine sense of humor might enjoy (or even grasp at all) some caustic critiques of their own culture. This might help explain why this movie has such an unusual voting distribution in the US, with several 10's and 0's, "love" or "hate" judgments...

It's hard to like this movie if you are familiar with Italian comedies from the 1950s e 1960s, and even harder if you already know the work of Mario Monicelli. Yes, this rates below average compared to the rest of his stuff, but if you're Italian you'll find it funny anyway because of the silly, but somehow true portrait it shows of Italy and Italians. The only other funny thing is seeing Danny DeVito, Susan Sarandon and so on in their 1970s self. Apart from all this, this movie should only serve as a starting point for the rest of Mario Monicelli's works.