Okay, picture this: wandering the aisles of the video rental store, maybe venturing beyond the usual Hollywood blockbusters into the slightly mysterious "Foreign Films" section. Sometimes, you'd stumble upon something unexpected, a movie that felt both familiar in its themes and refreshingly different in its execution. For many Italian film fans, and perhaps a few adventurous VHS hunters elsewhere, Leonardo Pieraccioni's 1995 directorial debut, I laureati (often found as The Graduates on exported tapes), was exactly that kind of discovery – a warm, witty, and surprisingly resonant slice of life.
This wasn't a high-octane thriller or a CGI spectacle. Instead, The Graduates invites us into a sun-drenched apartment in Florence, home to four university students who seem to have majored in procrastination. Leonardo (played by Pieraccioni himself), Rocco (Rocco Papaleo), Bruno (Gianmarco Tognazzi), and Pino (Massimo Ceccherini) are perpetually "almost graduated," clinging to the comfortable limbo of student life while the real world looms large. Their days drift by in a haze of shared meals, inside jokes, romantic entanglements (often involving the lovely Letizia, played by Maria Grazia Cucinotta, who international audiences might recognize from Il Postino), and a collective avoidance of actually finishing their theses.
Florentine Charm and Fear of the Future
What Pieraccioni, co-writing with the seasoned Giovanni Veronesi (who would go on to write and direct many successful Italian comedies), captures so brilliantly is that specific blend of camaraderie and quiet desperation that often defines your twenties. There's a gentle, distinctly Tuscan humor running through the film – observational, character-driven, and rarely relying on broad slapstick. It’s the kind of humor that emerges naturally from the characters' interactions and their slightly absurd attempts to delay adulthood. You genuinely feel the bond between these four friends, their shared history echoing in their easy banter and mutual enabling of lazy habits.
The film perfectly encapsulates that feeling of standing on the precipice of change, wanting the future but being terrified of letting go of the past. Remember that feeling? The comfort of the familiar routine, even if it’s a routine of going nowhere fast? The Graduates nails it. Florence itself becomes almost another character, its beautiful streets and squares forming the backdrop to their aimless wanderings and existential musings. It's less about dramatic plot twists and more about soaking in the atmosphere and identifying with the characters' relatable anxieties.
Pieraccioni's Winning Formula
For Italian audiences, I laureati was a phenomenon. Made on a relatively modest budget, it exploded at the box office, raking in over 15 billion lire (a hefty sum back then, roughly equivalent to €7.75 million – imagine that return today!) and instantly establishing Pieraccioni as a major force in Italian cinema. It wasn't just a movie; it was a cultural moment, launching his career as the charming, slightly melancholic romantic comedian that audiences adored. His on-screen persona – likable, funny, a bit hapless in love – struck a chord.
The chemistry between the four leads is undeniable. Papaleo brings a hangdog charm, Tognazzi (son of the legendary Ugo Tognazzi) offers a more cynical edge, and Ceccherini provides bursts of surreal energy, a collaboration pattern Pieraccioni would often repeat. It’s their interplay that forms the heart of the film. One particularly memorable, often-cited sequence involves a comically disastrous attempt to stage a live-action Pinocchio scene, perfectly illustrating their blend of misguided ambition and inherent goofiness. It’s moments like these, specific and quirky, that lodged the film in the memory of a generation of Italian moviegoers.
A Hidden Gem Worth Graduating To
Watching The Graduates today feels like uncovering a warm, slightly faded photograph. The fashion might scream mid-90s, and the specific cultural references are Italian, but the core themes are universal. It’s about friendship, the fear of failure, the bittersweet passage of time, and the struggle to figure out who you're supposed to be when the safety net of youth disappears. It lacks the slick polish of Hollywood comedies from the era, but it compensates with genuine heart and authenticity.
It might not have been a staple in every Blockbuster outside of Italy, but for those who appreciate character-driven comedies with a gentle pace and a lot of heart, The Graduates is a delightful find. It’s the kind of film that makes you smile knowingly, maybe even feel a pang of nostalgia for your own "almost graduated" days, whether they were spent in Florence or somewhere else entirely. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most resonant stories are the ones about ordinary people trying to navigate the messy, funny, and often confusing business of growing up.
VHS Heaven Rating: 7/10
Justification: While perhaps feeling a bit slight or meandering to those expecting constant gags, The Graduates excels as a charming, character-focused comedy with genuine warmth and highly relatable themes. Its massive success in Italy speaks to how well it captured a specific time and feeling, and the ensemble cast, led by a star-making turn from Pieraccioni, is wonderful. It's a gentle, enjoyable watch that perfectly embodies the spirit of discovering a lesser-known gem from the 90s.
Final Thought: It may be about students reluctant to leave university, but The Graduates definitely earns its diploma in heartwarming, nostalgic comedy.