Three too many, conference with Fabio De Luigi and Virginia Raffaele parents in spite of themselves

The conference of Three too many with Fabio De Luigi director and protagonist together with Virginia Raphael: families that suddenly expand, parents and children grappling with the classic generational conflicts

The press conference was held today Three too manythe second work of Fabio De Luigi (The Befana comes at night 2 ) who directs and interprets it together with Virginia Raphael (A woman friend) also present. Between families that grow overnight and the parent/child relationship, the two comedians revealed to us why you should start the new year in the hall with them.

How did the desire to explore parenthood also as a director come about?

FDL: Because I found the idea very intelligent and interesting, an idea that brings together both positions: both those who want to have children or already have them and those who really don’t want to have them will find in this film an honest representation of their own needs , without judging anyone’s choices since it’s a film that doesn’t want to take sides on one side or the other.

And how did Virginia Raffaele accept this challenge and this character?

VR: It was very difficult because I don’t respect and don’t like Fabio (laughs). Seriously, I welcomed it very well especially because we had already met on other sets but I did very small parts. Instead, when I learned that I would have a main role and that he would direct it, I trusted him 100%, and therefore I thank him and the production for choosing me and for trusting me.

There is a realistic look for those who have children and for those who don’t, because there is no such thing as a perfect life on the one hand or a disastrous one on the other.

FDL: Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted to tell and what I mentioned earlier. There is no right or wrong, there are choices that must be respected because then everyone’s lives are complicated both with and without children. I also wanted to break down the cloying rhetoric of “you don’t know how it’s better to have children”, in this film we try to tell the opportunity that is given to two people who choose not to have children and therefore represent their good and evil.

Since Fabio has children and Virginia doesn’t, how and if you identify with your roles?

FDL: I find myself in both parts given that for a while, like everyone else, I didn’t have any. Fortunately, I don’t find myself in the arrogance with which our characters at the beginning of the film look at their friends who have children, and I try to get away from the stereotype that sees those who have no children as judging their parents. I got into the two characters very quickly as I lived through both phases of the story.

VR: I don’t find myself in that stereotype of a person who is judgmental and contemptuous of those who have children either, but that aspect of independence that Giulia’s character possesses certainly belongs to me. The aspect linked to worldly life, on the other hand, is definitely less, given that I’m not so much a party or evening girl. Then I had these three little strangers on set who sort of messed me up and started a real family with them, so it was all a lot of fun.

In this Three too many, even the so-called experts are made fun of, as in the case of the scene of the childless pedagogue.

FDL: That scene is a bit like the story of many parents who worry about their children seeking remedies that are sometimes even absurd, or in this case the advice of luminaries and experts or perhaps by asphyxiating the pediatricians as seen in another scene of the film. Let’s say that these experts often make you feel inappropriate and inadequate, and I wanted to represent a sort of rebellion of these parents who decide to take back the reins of their lives and their parenthood.

There are many cinematic quotes within the film. How and why did you choose them, are they films that are part of your heart?

FDL: That’s a question I’d ask the writers, because when writing we took a lot of American cinema from the 80s and 90s from Eventually Polly arrives to Sliding Doors which then was my main reference, but there is also the horror of Shining. Virginia instead, for example, saw us The family manso they are different films that are part of our baggage and our imagination, especially comedy.

Three too many is a funny film but it also has a more moving and dramatic side. There is an exchange that can be had with who you have generated and with who has generated us.

FDL: It’s precisely those areas of the film that made me happy and that scared me the most, like the scene in the pool at the end. You are always afraid of making mistakes with your children, and at some point fear can even take over love. I wanted that moment there to be told and I hope that viewers can relate to it, whether they are children or parents.

VR: Yes, there are more plans than this film. But it’s not just a film for families, because it talks about so many issues that affect everyone’s life and that don’t just concern children. The fact that I am moved is not because of our sadism, but because of an intention to delve into the theme and subject matter of the film.

There is at one point a kind of horror parody with both the curse and the character of the stork man. How did this idea come about? And then what makes you laugh at the cinema or in life?

FDL: The stork man was born from the screenwriters of the film, because he is in a way the character who represents the beginning and the end of this crazy journey that the protagonists undertake. As far as horror is concerned, I threw myself into it with all my might, despite the fear of the producers, and therefore I wanted darkness, thunder, lightning and obviously the incredible performance of Barbara Chichiarelli who plays Marta in the film. But this disturbing aspect, which I like and which amuses me in cinema, took a while.

VR: That’s a very difficult question to answer. Do you think that when they tell me a joke I focus on how it will be closed rather than on the joke, so I never laugh. But it’s the great themes, the contrasts, the unexpected things, the pauses that make me laugh, the black humour, the nonsense. And then Peter Sellers, he makes me laugh a lot.

Three too many is released in all theaters on January 1, 2023, distributed by Warner Bros Italy.