Smetto Quando Voglio is the first movie of the italian director Sidney Sibilia. It came out in 2014 and the first in the "Smetto Quando Voglio" trilogy, followed by Smetto Quando Voglio Masterclass in 2017 and Smetto Quando Voglio Ad Honorem in the same year.
It follows the story of Pietro Zinni (Edoardo Leo), an Italian neurobiologist who suddenly finds himself without a job. Tricked by one of the students he tutors into trying a drug, he gets the idea of using his competence to produce and sell a technically legal one. To do that, he gets the help from his chemist friend Alberto Petrelli (Stefano Fresi) to produce it, the latinists Mattia Argeri (Valerio Aprea) and Giorgio Sironi (Lorenzo Lavia) for the location, the anthropologist Andrea De Sanctis (Pietro Sermonti) to blend in, the archaeologist Arturo Frantini (Paolo Calabresi) for the distribution, the economist Bartolomeo Bonello (Libero De Rienzo) for the economical issues.
Things go well for a while. Then Alberto gets addicted to the very drug they are making, Giulia, Pietro's girlfriend who works in a rehab center for drug-addicts finds out about them and is not too pleased about it, and the resident criminal lord, Er Murena (the Moray) gets annoyed by their sudden expansion.
The movie is notable for its peculiar photography, its component of social criticism, and a very unusual sense of humor for an Italian movie.
Smetto Quando Voglio provides examples of:
- Bitter Sweet Ending: Pietro is in jail, away from Giulia and the child, but his job there gives him the money they need (to the point being released early ends up being a worst-case scenario), his friends are free from all charges but Mattia and Giorgio are trapped in a bad job once again to pay their colossal debts, Alberto is in rehab, and while Andrea and Arturo are back to their older life, those lives still sucks. Turned into a Downer Ending in the sequel, when we find out they all ended up under trial for the attempted robbery and kidnapping. We also find out that actually nine months passed between the last two scenes, and they are all in jail and framed to be found guilty of some other charges.
- Brick Joke: In the beginning, Giulia doubts Vittorio's advice since he studied canon law, not civil right. In the end, Pietro tells Giulia not to trust Vittorio since he studied canon law, not criminal law. The sequel reveals that he's in jail because Vittorio didn't do his job, adding a whole new layer to that discussion.
- Book Ends: Andrea's first scene is him being rejected from a job interview, in the end we saw him applying for that same job, this time getting it.
- Butt-Monkey: Bartolomeo is the one getting beaten as a warning by Murena's men, and the one forced to marry (well, forced to uphold his promise, but still). He exagerates it by saying he's the only one that has to pay, although that isn't true. He's also the only one shown as quite unsuccesfull during his introduction.
- Chekhov's Gun: Three of them, the "number zero" pill, Bartolomeo's wedding and the father of one of Pietro's students having a catering agency. [[spoilers: All of them end up being instrumental in Pietro's last plan and Murena's downfall].
- Happily Married: Apparently, Bartolomeo ends up like that.
- Heroic Sacrifice: A non-lethal variant, Pietro goes to jail bringin Murena with him in order to have no charges held against his friends. The sequel reveals it all to be pointless, since it only covered the smart-drug dealing thing, but not the attempted robbery and kidnapping they resort to afterwards.
- Karma Houdini: The attempted robbery has apparently no consequences. Subverted in the sequel.
- Also, Pietro cheats on his girlfriend with an escort. She never finds out about it.
- Lampshade Hanging: At one point, the cast has to get firearms to rob a pharmacy. When Arturo gives them bayonets and firearms from the nineteenth century, they wonder why everything they do must be so surreal.
- While threathened by Murena's men, Bartolomeo can't keep a straight face since they like they've seen too many gangster movies. Look below to see how it turned out.
- In the climax, Pietro uses his knowledge to prepare something to erase the cashier's memory. Bartolomeo gushes and asks if he's the only one to understand how awesome that is.
- Large Ham: When selling drugs in the gay club, Mattia's acting is a bit... Excessive. Andrea points out he specifically told them ''not'' to do that.
- Also, Alberto while under the drug's effect. His addiction turns him into a walking
Funny Moments for that reason.
- Also, Alberto while under the drug's effect. His addiction turns him into a walking
- Laser-Guided Karma: Everyone's comeuppance seems to be proportional to how they reacted to their new life: Pietro, who got everyone else involved, pays for them all; Alberto ends up in re-ab like every other addict; Mattia and Giorgio have to work to repay their debts; Bartolomeo has to marry the girlfriend whose money he kept exploiting; Andrea and Arturo, who did nothing bad, are able to go back to their older lives. Taken further in the sequel, when we find out they are also under trial for robbing a pharmacy and shooting the cashier.
- Master Actor: Andrea. He merely ass to switch clothing and attitude, and can pass himself for anything. He fails exactly once, in the beginning, and that's because of a subtle slip and because the other was specifically looking for that.
- Meaningful Name: Er Murena ("the morey"), a ruthless gangster. Turns out to be much more meaningful, as it's actually a reference to his engineering degree (it's the name of a submarine), which references his intelligence and education.
- Mr. Exposition: Andrea takes to role for the ending telling the whole story in his job interview, and providing the details to understand Pietro's plan.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Pietro's professors appears only in a couple of scenes in the beginning, and briefly in the second act to show how the tables have turned. His meddling with politics and unprofessional approach to his job cause Pietro to lose his, setting the whole plot in motion.
- Oh boy, Pietro's student. He tricks him into drinking a drug, giving him the idea to make money by producing a new, legal one and plays a vital role in Murena's capture.
- Bartolomeo's girlfriend has exactly three scenes. She gaves them the money to start their operations and her wedding with Bartolomeo gives is instrumental in Murena's capture.
- Show, Don't Tell: The main character are introduced by showing their abilities.
- Smoking Is Cool: Bartolomeo seems to invoke it to look more like a drug-dealer, and then keeps it.
- Spanner in the Works: The student who was taking an exam with Pietro in the beginning shows up in the end working in pharmacy (since he mentioned that the reason he needed to pass it was to work in his father's), recognizing him and forcing them to change their plan.
- Whole-Plot Reference: To Breaking Bad
- Worthy Opponent: Is revealed that Murena, being himself an accademic-turned-criminal, sees Pietro as one, congratulating him for his achievements when they are alone.
