Bud Spencer gives a wonderfully warm and charming performance as Bulldozer, an amiable, but ill-tempered former pro football player turned fisherman who's recruited by a wacky gang of street people to whip them into shape for a major all-or-nothing football game against a rival group of American soldiers led by gung-ho jerk Sergeant Kempfer (a deliciously obnoxious portrayal by Raimund Harmstorf). Director Michele Lupo and screenwriters Marcello Fondato and Francesco Scardamaglia concoct a blithely silly and lighthearted comedy that not only delivers the expected amusingly goofy slapstick humor (several wild rough'n'tumble fight scenes in particular are absolutely hilarious), but also a nice small coastal town atmosphere, likable characters, and a truly uplifting story in which Bulldozer gives his misfit team a much-needed sense of self-worth while the team in turn help Bulldozer regain his passion for the game. Spencer easily carries the film on his massive shoulders as the decent and honorable Bulldozer; he receives excellent support from Kempfer, Ottaviano Dell'Aqua as smartaleck Gerry, Marco Stefanelli as lanky klutz Tony, Giovanni Vettorazzo as swift, wily thief Spitz, and Reinhard Kolldehoff as the stern Colonel Martin. Both Franco Di Giacomo's slick cinematography and the bubbly score by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis are up to speed. The climactic football game is very funny, gripping and exciting. A hugely enjoyable little hoot.
Review of Lo chiamavano Bulldozer
