Romeo è Giulietta (2024)

The celebrated and cynical theater director Federico Landi Porrini, now nearing the end of his career, wants to bring it to a close by staging a play in Spoleto based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. A casting call is opened, inevitably swarmed by young actors hoping to land one of the roles. Choosing the girl who will play the lead proves especially difficult, because Landi Porrini keeps rejecting and humiliating them all. Among those dreaming of taking part in the production is aspiring actress Vittoria Mengoni, who is quickly and rudely dismissed at the audition because she had plagiarized another artist in the past, prompting Porrini to call her a “thief.” So, with the help of Gloria, a former makeup artist on Landi Porrini’s staff who was recently fired by him, she disguises herself as a man with a fake nose and a wig. Her idea is to prove her talent to the bad-tempered director anyway, then unmask herself and cover him in ridicule. He is indeed dazzled by Vittoria’s alter ego, Otto Novembre, and casts him as Romeo. Faced with this opportunity, she cannot bring herself to reveal her identity and agrees to take part in the play. Gemma Grimaldi is cast as Juliet; her only merit is that she is a TikToker with a large following among young people, as well as the girlfriend of footballer Lukaku, and thus a potential crowd-puller. The actor chosen to play Mercutio, meanwhile, breaks a leg during rehearsals, and Rocco, a delivery rider and Vittoria’s boyfriend, is cast in his place. Knowing that her boyfriend had hoped to play Romeo, Vittoria does not have the courage to tell him that she was the one who won the role, and tries to keep their relationship going while keeping the secret, though she cannot hide her embarrassment. Suspicious, Rocco secretly follows her to spy on some of her behavior. He later meets Otto Novembre and becomes friends with him, showing himself to be overly intrusive. Vittoria’s alter ego also attracts the attention of Landi Porrini, who is having a rough patch with his partner, Lorenzo, and rejects his advances. Rocco then arranges a double date with Otto Novembre, Gemma, and Gemma’s sister Agata, and tries to seduce Agata right in front of Otto. Otto also tries to set Gemma up with Rocco; Gemma has a crush on Otto, unaware of his true identity, and later confesses to Otto that she is bisexual, leaving him stunned. In the end, Vittoria discovers that Rocco had already figured everything out (November 8 is Vittoria’s birthday) and had only been teasing her a little. Their love is therefore saved, as is the love between Landi Porrini and Lorenzo, who make up. The performance of Romeo and Juliet takes place, and, near the end, Otto Novembre unmasks himself, revealing that he is a woman. This first leaves the audience stunned, then prompts thunderous applause. After the performance, Landi Porrini goes to Vittoria’s dressing room to thank her, then approaches a poster for the play with a lipstick and adds an accent mark to the conjunction in the title: Romeo è Giulietta.