Amiche da morire (Friends to Die For) is a 2013 Italian Black Comedy film written and directed by newcomer director Giorgia Farina.
Once upon a time in a small island near Sicily, a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead who couldn't be more different. The blonde is Gilda, the bombshell High-Class Call Girl, the brunette is Crocetta the official jinx and Old Maid, while the redhead is Olivia, the Naïve Everygirl married with the hottest guy in town. Said hottest guy sadly turns out to be a criminal on the run, and after a fight with his ditzy wife , she shoots him in front of the other two protagonist, which are there because...well, It's a Long Story. The loot he was smuggling away turns out to be 1.000.000.€. What should they do? Keep it? Hell yeah.Hilarity Ensues since the murder and the loot needs to be hidden, and the girls are forced to work together while heavily disliking each other. They are stalked by Straw Misogynist policeman Nico Malachia, by the Gossipy Hens in town since no one knew about their "friendship" and getting away with murder needs a lot of luck, cunning and charm.
The film provides examples of:
- All Men Are Perverts: Is there in town a man that is not a unfaithful douchebag? Apparently not.
- Asshole Victim: Rocco, Olivia's husband. He turns out to be a robber and before leaving mocks Olivia for believing im to love her. She loses it and shoot him. His fellow robbers are even worse and you'll be glad to see Olivia shooting them as well.
- Attempted Rape: One of the robbers was about to rape Crocetta when her friends stops him and Olivia murders him.
- Black Comedy: That meets a Chick Flick, no less.
- "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: Tonino and Mr. Zuccalà find out that the women killed the robbers and kept the loot so the blackmail them to have the loot for themselves. Crocetta turns the table saying that she would rather confess the murder and so an army of journalists and police would land the island and find out that the men themselves are running illicit activities such as tax evasion and undeclared work.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The three main characters, but while Crocetta is a Brainy Brunette, Gilda is not a stereotypically Dumb Blonde but quite clever herself. Olivia is not a Fiery Redhead but a total ditz.
- Breakfast Club: What the main characters companionship turns out to be. They have all their respective problems and very different personalities but they are nevertheless rather lonely and needed a friend.
- Cassandra Truth:
- Nico, being the only competent policeman in the island, is convinced that the women are implicated in the robbery somehow;
- Olivia tells her husband's accomplices that she killed him. They don't believe her, which bites them hard as she guns down them as well.
- Chekhov's Gun: Literally. Olivia forgets to hide her gun and it turns out to be her luck when she has to face her husband's former partners in crime.
- Also, Crocetta's job at the canned tuna factory turns out to be useful when she has the idea of hiding the corpse in the cans.
- Dating Catwoman: After the girls finally got away with everything, the Inspector asks Crocetta for a date.
- The Ditz: Olivia though she is more dangerous than she lets know.
- Friendless Background: The three protagonists, in one way or another
- Crocetta is the town's resident Jinx and men and women alike keep her at distance;
- Gilda is ostracized by the women for her profession (well, she does entertain their husbands for a living) and helps Olivia uncover her husband's dirty secrets out of boredom and loneliness;
- Olivia has an active social life, but her friends who envied her seemingly perfect life and were constantly talking behind her back.
- Gossipy Hens: No one is safe from the women of the town. The Inspector even use them for extra informations.
- Green-Eyed Monster: The women in town are all envious of Olivia because she married the local Mr. Fanservice, and of Gilda because she steals their husband's attention. Also, Crocetta is envious of Olivia's seemingly perfect life before the events of the film.
- It Gets Easier: After being shocked for her first homicide and going along with the plan to avoid jail Olivia finds out she's quite good at shooting when she kills her husband's other goons. By the end she can't look forward to rob a bank and she shoot someone.
- The Jinx: Crocetta is (in)famous in town for bringing bad luck, especially to anyone who tries to woo her, and because of that is still a unmarried at age 36 in a town where people settle down young. Turns out that it's her mother who spread such fame, because she doesn't want her to ever leave her.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: The three women themselves, but Crocetta who basically has the most clever ideas and Olivia who has the idea of hide the loot inside the statue of the saint and shoots dead the robbers. Also she unexpectedly hides a gun and is capable of shooting two of her husband's robbery partners taking them completely by surprise.
- My Beloved Smother: Crocetta's mother controls every single aspect of her life, constantly preventing her to find an husband by building up her reputation of The Jinx.
- Oh, Crap!: Several moments:
- First when the women find Rocco with the loot and Olivia shoots him
- Quite literally said by Gilda when the police is near their car, with the loot still inside
- When the trio is unexpectedly kidnapped by Rocco's partners
- The robbers instead, just before Olivia draws her gun and kills them in a few seconds.
- Old Maid: Crocetta is desperate of being still unmarried since she's already in her late thirties.
- Out with a Bang: The elderly Don Vincenzo goes to Gilda for an happy afternoon, and then dies of too much happiness.
- Pretty Little Headshots: Rocco's modality of death.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Despite the Villain Protagonist setting, you know for whom you're supposed to root for by the fact the robbers who are trying to steal the money from the three women are evil, boorish rapists.
- Scenery Porn: You'll soon find yourself booking your holidays in that island.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: As the girls find out, Crocetta looks quite the beauty after she's given proper makeup and more revealing clothes.
- Stereotype Flip: We have a Blonde, Brunette, Redhead trio where the blonde has the personality of a Fiery Redhead and the redhead that of a Dumb Blonde.
- Unproblematic Prostitution: Gilda does The Oldest Profession seemingly by choice, and makes no fuss about it. She does want to leave however to start her own business.
- Teeny Weenie: Gilda claims Mr. Zuccalà (richest guy in town and Crocetta's employer) to have one. She kinda knows her job.
- Village Bicycle: It's a Running Gag that everyone in town slept with Gilda. Of ourse it's a given since she is an High-Class Call Girl.
- Villain Protagonist: It's easy to forget that the three women are guilty of stealing, lying and even murder since Olivia killed her husband with the other two as accomplices.
- Yandere: Olivia finds out that her husband married her only to cover his criminal activities and shoots him dead.
- Crocetta's mother is the parental version of this trope.
