Happily Mixed Up

Happily Mixed Up (Confusi e felici, 2014) is an Italian ensemble comedy you can watch online on iFILM, written and directed by Massimiliano Bruno. The setup is simple and the payoff is better than expected: what happens to a group of therapy patients when their analyst suddenly needs help himself?

Dr. Pietro runs a busy practice full of anxious, lovesick, and generally confused Romans. Then he gets a diagnosis, decides he can't go on, and shuts down. His patients — who have only ever talked to each other through him — are left stranded. They band together to try to pull him back. Claudio Bisio, Marco Giallini, Anna Foglietta and Caterina Guzzanti lead a cast that handles the comedic timing with enough restraint to keep things from tipping into farce.

Bruno gives each character a real problem underneath the jokes, which is what stops the film from becoming a sketch. Good-natured and sharper than its premise suggests. Stream Happily Mixed Up (2014) online on iFILM.