I Vitelloni

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


I Vitelloni is a film directed by Federico Fellini that deals with a bunch of slackers and their supposedly carefree lives. One of them, Fausto, blows this when he leaves his girlfriend pregnant and is forced to marry her. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t try to seduce other women, though.

Fausto's friends try to be supportive while keeping their lifestyles: Alberto is supported by his mother and sister, Leopoldo writes a play, Riccardo tries to keep his singing act and Moraldo, Fausto’s brother-in-law, tries to get away from it all.

The film won the Venice Film Festival Silver Lion in 1953 and got an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing in 1958.

Tropes used in I Vitelloni include:
  • Broken Pedestal: Leopoldo has the eccentric actor Sergio in high regard, but then he tries to insinuate to him.
  • Camp Gay: Sergio Natali.
  • Casanova: All of them, but Fausto is the most noticeable.
  • The Danza: Riccardo is played by Riccardo Fellini, Alberto by Alberto Sordi, Leopoldo by Leopoldo Trieste.
  • Don't Make Me Take My Belt Off: Francesco, Fausto’s father, loses his patience with his son by the end of the film.
  • Masquerade Ball
  • Monster Clown: Alberto, while drunk, sees some clown faces like this.
  • Obnoxious In-Laws: Not that obnoxious actually, but Moraldo feels scorn to his brother-in-law because he sees how he cheats on his sister.
  • Shotgun Wedding: Fortunately for Fausto, Sandra is a nice-looking girl.
  • The Slacker: The five protagonists.
  • Small Town Boredom: Moraldo wants to go out of his little town. He does it at the end.
  • The Smart Guy: Leopoldo.