Creator / Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo

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Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo are an Italian comedy trio which include Cataldo "Aldo" Baglio (born September 28th, 1958), Giovanni Storti (born February 20th, 1957) and Giacomino "Giacomo" Poretti (born April 26th, 1956) who work together since the 90s. They gained popularity with their TV appearances in shows like Mai Dire Goal (Never Say Goal) and their own theatre productions like I Corti and Tel Chi El Telun.

Their big-screen debut was in 1997 with the film Three Men and a Leg, followed by various other movies, with varying degrees of success. Their first three movies are generally considered the better ones by both critics and audience.

All three played several different characters in their sketches, but they also often play themselves in realistic situations. It’s notable that in almost all their movies, their characters keep their actors' full names. Much of their comedy is about the differences between North and South Italy, evidencing accents and stereotypes for humor.

Filmography

Films:

• Three Men and a Leg (1997)
• That's Life (1998) (1998)
• All the Moron's Men (1999) (credited as their characters)
• Ask Me If I'm Happy (2000)
• The Legend of Al, John and Jack (2002)
• Do You Know Claudia? (2004)
• Anplagghed al Cinema (2006)
• Il Cosmo sul Comò (2008)
• The Santa Claus Gang (2010)
• Ammutta Muddica al Cinema (2013)
• The Rich, the Pauper and the Butler (2014)
• Fuga da Reuma Park (2016)
• I Hate Summer (2020)
• The Wedding Days (2022)

• Gli Svizzeri (1996-97)

Some tropes used by their works:

• Accidental Misnaming: In the "Pdor" sketch, Giacomo's character always end up calling Pdor "Kmer", annoying the latter who, in turns, starts a long speech about himself and what he accomplished.
• The Alleged Car: Two examples in Tel chi el telun.
  • In a filmed intro, the trio tries to reach the theater on Giacomo's dated car, which has troubles with gear ratio and brakes. When Giacomo points out that he inherited it from his late grandfather, Giovanni suggests that the car should have been buried along with him.
  • In one of the sketches, the trio mimicks a long trip on Giovanni's (non-existent) "Subaru SW", which Giacomo promptly calls "Subaru Baracca" (a lemon) as it only has three seats and four doors, a toy steering wheel, a single lever for both gear ratio and indicators, and somehow can be elongated in a banana shape.
• Ascended Extra: The bumbling gangsters Al (Aldo), Johnny (Giovanni), and Jack (Giacomo) first appear in two short films before the credits of Tre uomini e una gamba and Così è la vita. A few years later, they are the main characters of their own feature-length film.
• Big Eater: It's a running gag that Aldo loves to eat, even at the most inappropriate times. Ironically, he's the one who forgets to bring food in the mountain sketch.
• Big, Thin, Short Trio: Aldo, Giovanni, and Giacomo, in this exact order.
• Bittersweet Ending: Many of the movies, fitting the bittersweet atmosphere of the story. Although you can argue that Così è la vita has a straight-up Downer Ending (especially because of the randomly cruel final scene). Other movies have a happier ending, especially Chiedimi se sono felice.
• Black Comedy:
  • Some of their gags are about this, like the "Gli Svizzeri" sketches where they usually cause the injuries or even deaths of some bystanders without even caring.
  • La leggenda di Al, John, e Jack has some people and even a cat being killed accidentally, and it's always Played for Laughs.
• Black Comedy Animal Cruelty:
  • In the "Subaru Baracca" sketch, Giovanni not so accidentally runs over some imaginary animals, a dalmatian among them, much to Aldo and Giacomo's shock.
  • In La Leggenda di Al John e Jack, Jack (Giacomo) shoots an unseen dog just to show where it is, after Johnny (Giovanni) claims he can't see it.
• Black Comedy Pet Death:
  • In Tre uomini e una gamba, the three forget their father in law's dog tied up to the back of their car so it dies offscreen by being dragged across the freeway. Thankfully, we never actually see the moment where the dog dies, it was just implied when the three realize Something We Forgot when they were already driving the car. They later look for the dog, without finding it.
  • In La Leggenda di Al John e Jack, their pet cat is accidentally shot to death (off-screen) by Jack and then thrown in the bin by Johnny, in one of the first scenes.
• Butt-Monkey: Depending on the gag, all three can be this.
  • Aldo, being the token southerner and the dumbest of the trio, is very often the butt of the jokes, gets the most slapstick, and is made fun of by the other two, especially in the sketches.
  • When it's not Aldo, Giacomo is typically the one who is treated like a Butt Monkey in several sketches and almost all the movies. He gets mistreated and insulted (especially by Giovanni) when he's his misunderstood/intellectual self, but also when he plays the ignorant and idiotic Jack, who is The Friend Nobody Likes.
  • Giovanni has his moments as well, especially in the movie Così è la Vita, where he's basically Born Unlucky. Also, in a notable scene of Chiedimi se sono felice, Aldo and Giacomo gang up on him to prank him. He also suffers pranks by some children while he works as a mime.
• The Casanova: Aldo in Chiedimi se sono felice and Giovanni, of all people, in La banda dei Babbi Natale. Since neither of them is exactly a looker, they also qualify as Kavorka Man.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Aldo has a strange way of thinking, is a Malaproper, and sometimes has trouble making a coherent speech.
• Comic Trio: Giovanni is the schemer, Aldo is the dumb follower, and Giacomo is the No-Respect Guy.
• Composite Character: In 2020, they made a new version of the Subara Baracca sketch, more than twenty years after the original. Since Aldo wasn't with the other two (aside from some video calls), Giacomo had to deliver most of his original lines and most of Aldo's lines.
• Continuity Porn: The 2020 movie Odio l'estate has many references to popular scenes from their previous movies.
• Cuckoosnarker: Despite being a Cloudcuckoolander, Aldo is every bit as snarky and sarcastic as the other two (not deadpan though, since he's usually a Large Ham). However, Aldo's snarky remarks are not surprising at all, since Snark-to-Snark Combat is the main form of communication in the trio.
  • His reaction to Giacomo (unintentionally) screwing up Giovanni's life in "Chiedimi Se Sono Felice":
    Aldo: So, you made him lose his job and his girlfriend at the same time! Now, take the car, run over his mother, and your work is done.
    Giacomo: Thank you.
    Aldo: You're welcome. And anyway, Giacomino, if I ask you for a favor tomorrow, don't do it. Don't do it!
  • His reaction to Giacomo's driving skills in "Così è la Vita":
    Aldo: Where did you get your driving license, in a game room?
• The Danza: Aldo, Giovanni, and Giacomo keep their names and surnames in almost all the movies, as do some of the secondary actors. Marina Massironi and Silvana Fallisi also play characters named Marina and Silvana in Chiedimi se sono felice, though their characters usually have different names in the other movies.
• Dead All Along: All three of them at the end of Così è la vita. They thought they were survivors of a terrible car accident but they were actually ghosts.
• Deadpan Snarker: All three of them, very much so. It's their favorite type of humor and they spend all their interactions snarking at each other. Giovanni is the king of the trope, but the other two are very good at snarky comebacks as well.
• Death as Comedy: One of their sketches ends with Giacomo's character doing bunjee jumping and falling to his death because one of his legs detaches, and Giovanni's character suddenly remembers that Giacomo's character had ostheoporosis (he mentioned he forgot what illnesses Giacomo's character had around the start of the sketch).
• Depending on the Writer: While Aldo and Giovanni are usually consistent with their trademark personalities (Aldo is the loud and illiterate Cloudcuckoolander, Giovanni is finicky and cynical), Giacomo's personality often changes depending on the work. He can be a meek and awkward Nice Guy (mainly in the movies), an aggressive jerk (often in the sketches), the intellectual one (most of the time), or even the dumbest of the trio (when he plays Jack of the trio "Al, John, and Jack").
• Did Not Get the Girl:
  • Poor Giacomo in the movies. Tre uomini e una gamba, Chiedimi se sono felice, and Tu la conosci Claudia end with him not getting the woman he was in love with. Finally averted in ''La banda dei Babbi Natale" where he ends up with an attractive woman.
  • Aldo is not much luckier. He usually manages to date the girl he loves (Clara in Così è la vita, Daria in Chiedimi se sono felice, Claudia in Tu la conosci Claudia) but loses her before the end of the movie.
  • Averted with Giovanni, who has better luck. Even if he's the least romantic of the three and the movies play up his annoying traits, in Chiedimi se sono felice and Tu la conosci Claudia, he ends up with the female lead.
• Dr. Jerk:
  • Giacomo's doctor in Tre uomini e una gamba who antagonizes Aldo for no reason. The same actor will later play Giovanni's Mean Boss in Chiedimi se sono felice.
  • Dr. Gastani Frinzi from Il cosmo sul comò is a female example, to the point Giacomo snaps at her. Her scenes with Giacomo are considered the only funny scenes from an otherwise forgettable movie.
  • Giovanni is a veterinarian in La banda dei Babbi Natale but he's a Jerkass as always.
  • In a sketch from their stage shows, Aldo, Giovanni, and Giacomo play a trio of Dr. Jerks, Professor Helmut Alzheimer (Giovanni) and his assistants.
• Fire-Forged Friends: In some movies (Così è la vita, Tu la conosci Claudia, Odio l'estate), the three start off as strangers who accidentally run into each other and become friends after some initial hostility. Averted in other movies (Tre uomini e una gamba, Chiedimi se sono felice, La banda dei Babbi Natale), where the three are close friends from the beginning.
• The Fool: Usually Aldo, but when they play bumbling gangsters Al, John and Jack, Giacomo is portrayed as the idiot of the trio.
• Four-Man Band: The most frequent dynamic in the early days, when Marina was the unofficial fourth member.
  • Only Sane Man: Marina.
  • The Smart Guy: Giacomo.
  • Comedic Sociopath: Giovanni.
  • Butt-Monkey: Aldo.
• The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Always Played for Laughs during their sketches. In the mountain sequence from I Corti Giovanni throws a paper-made rock to the audience and in Tel chi el telun the three very violently punish a spectator (actually an actor) who let his cellular ringing during the show.
• Freudian Trio: Aldo=Id, Giovanni=Superego, and Giacomo=Ego. Giovanni and Giacomo sometimes switch roles.
• Funny Foreigner: Some of their characters, like English teacher Mr. Flanagan, played by Giacomo. Marina also played a German girl in one of their sketches. Sometimes the "foreigner" is just a regional stereotype, like Giovanni playing Sardinian character Nico.
• Grumpy Old Man: Giacomo sometimes plays this type of character, most notably in the ticket inspector sketch. All three of 'em also play this trope in some gags and in the Fuga da Reuma Park movie.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Depending on the work, all three have their moments, most notably Aldo, who has a tendency to yell a lot when he starts to lose his patience.
• Irony as She Is Cast:
  • In the museum sketch, Aldo is shown to be completely ignorant about art. In real life, Aldo Baglio is the only one of the trio who has a real interest in art, and he also likes painting.
  • In the Subaru Baracca sketch, Giovanni plays a guy who has complete disregard for the animal life, going out of his way to run over whatever animal is unfortunate enough to be on or near the road. In reality Giovanni is a nature lover who advocates for respecting both animal and plants lives and against the indiscriminate cutting of trees in urban landscapes. His videos on Instagram are mostly dedicated to this.
• Jerkass: Giovanni is usually portrayed like this. He's almost always rude, cynical and ignorant even if he sometimes has a soft spot. Actually, all three can be pretty mean when they want to.
• Kavorka Man: Aldo is portrayed as a ladies man in several movies (especially Chiedimi se sono felice and Il ricco, il povero e il maggiordomo) despite being a bald, ignorant, Manchild loser. He even gives love advice to his friends sometimes. Averted in the stage shows, where he's more of a Casanova Wannabe, especially in the mountain sketch. Same thing for Beppe, the burglar from Chiedimi se sono felice, who actually seem to have gained the affections of a much prettier woman much to Giacomo's disappointment since he was actually attracted to her.
• Know-Nothing Know-It-All: All three. Very often, one of them will pretend to be knowledgeable about a topic he doesn't know anything about, usually to impress other people. Giovanni even accuses Giacomo of being this in Tre uomini e una gamba, claiming that his "intellectual" friend can't do anything and has never actually read any book.
• Large Ham:
  • Aldo is almost always the loudest and most over-the-top of the three and in several gags has NO INDOOR VOICE.
  • In the sketch "Pdor", the titular character speaks loudly and in an almost solemn tone, especially when he talks about himself.
  • Lampshaded by Giovanni in Chiedimi se sono felice:
    Giovanni: Who do you have in your brains, howler monkeys?!
• Lethally Stupid:
  • Aldo usually causes some antics that not only lead to trouble and/or injures for himself but to Giovanni and Giacomo as well. When the three play Al, John and Jack, the latter, played by Giacomo, is this as he even causes the death of some unfortunate bystanders.
  • Dr. Helmut Alzheimer and his assistants lack any kind of medical knowledge and are also completely unprofessional. They managed to kill a patient that they were removing a pimple from, by bleeding him to death.
    Dr. Alzheimer: "Ah-ha! I've caught you red-handed! The drip is not connected!"
    Dr. Pivetta:"They make them wireless now... Bluetooth technology."
• Loser Protagonist: All three of them are very often down on their luck in many movies and sketches.
• Manchild: Most of the time, Aldo's trademark is to act like a cheerful little child or hilariously whimper when embarrassed or scared.
• Malaproper: In another famous scene from Tre uomini e una gamba, Aldo and Giovanni have to find Giacomo who was lost at sea, and Aldo decides to climb down a small cliffside, only to realize to his horror that the rock is "franabile" ("subject to landslides" in Italian); Giovanni is quick to correct him with the term he meant to say, "friabile" (Italian for "crumbly"). This scene was originally a sketch from their stage show "I Corti".
• The Millstone:
  • Aldo often does stupid things that makes things worse for the group, like in the mountain trip sketch or the Subaru Baracca sketch. On the other hand, when they play gangsters Al, John, and Jack, it's always Giacomo/Jack the one who screws things up for the team.
  • There are also some Played for Drama examples: Giacomo is very much this in Chiedimi se sono felice, to the point that his actions destroy the trio's friendship for three years, and Aldo is also this in "La banda dei Babbi Natale" but he's Easily Forgiven very soon.
• National Stereotypes: Most of their gags are about Italian regional stereotypes, but there are occasional gags about other nations' stereotypes as well.
• Nice, Mean, and In-Between:
  • In all the movies, Giacomo is nice, Giovanni is mean, and Aldo is in-between, except in Il ricco, il povero e il maggiordomo (where Giacomo is the meanest) and La leggenda di Al, John, e Jack (where they are all "mean" Villain Protagonists, or so it seems). Although Giacomo is much less nice in the stage shows, and there are several sketches where he's even meaner than Giovanni.
  • Their dynamic changes in the 2022 movie Il Grande Giorno. Aldo is more or less the same as usual (a loud and obnoxious Kindhearted Simpleton), Giovanni is oddly characterized as overly friendly, idealistic, and clingy (the opposite of his usual personality, though he keeps his finicky perfectionist side), while Giacomo is grumpy, stingy, and irritable (which was actually Giovanni's personality in early movies).
• Of Corpse He's Alive: One of their sketches starts with Aldo's character accidentally killing Giovanni's character (a journalist) by smashing a bottle on his head after an argument. The rest of the sketch is about Him and Giacomo's character doing their best to convince the audience that Giovanni's character is still alive.
• Only Sane Man: It's either Giovanni or Giacomo, depending on the work.
  • Giovanni is more likely to be this in most sketches, stage shows and when they play gangsters Al, John, and Jack (including the movie).
  • In most of the movies, this role is taken by Giacomo, as the most quiet and mild-mannered of the three.
  • While Marina has some silly roles in the stage shows, as herself she's often the Straight Man to the antics of the bickering trio, including the movies.
• Orphaned Punchline: One sketch opens with Dr. Alzheimer (Giovanni) telling the punchline "C'ho sotto un cannone" to the two assistants, who of course laugh exaggeratedly. The punchline is repeated through the sketch to the same effect, but we never know the rest of the joke.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: Giovanni and Giacomo usually make fun of Aldo due to his southern origins and call him "terrone", a slur often used to indicate a Lower-Class Lout from Southern Italy.
• Road Trip Plot: A lot of their movies, as well as the "Subaru Baracca" sketch in Tel Chi El Telun, involve a long car trip.
• Shout-Out: Many.
  • The first movie Tre uomini e una gamba has several references to their stage show gags.
  • From the same movie the three unintentionally cause the death of their father in law's dog by forgetting him tied to the trunk.
  • Così è la vita has a couple of Pulp Fiction references. The intro where Al, Johnny and Jack escape from a chain gang seems to be inspired by Take the Money and Run.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: They have a very colorful language in both sketches and movies.
• The Smurfette Principle: Marina Massironi, in the early sketches, stage plays, and movies, has this dynamic with the trio, sometimes to the point of being One of the Boys (and she has been a Love Interest to all three of them in different movies). In their later works, this role is sometimes taken by Aldo's wife Silvana.
• Stupid Crooks: All three of 'em as gangsters Al, Johnny and Jack. The latter is actually the dumbest of the three but the other two are shown to be quite clumsy, as well. Also the burglar Beppe from Chiedimi se sono felice, who actually ended up in their place by accident as he got the wrong address.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In some sketches or shows, the usually nice Giacomo is definitely harsher and more mean spirited. Most notably in the marathon segment from the show "Ammutta Muddica" where he keeps insulting and direspecting Aldo for small, petty reasons. In the same sketch Aldo is also this. Even before his feud with Giacomo he made some sarcastic opinions about Giacomo's weight.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife:
  • Aldo, Giovanni, and Giacomo are not particularly good-looking (Aldo is bald, Giacomo is very short and big-nosed, and Giovanni is explicitly stated to be unattractive by other characters). A lot of their wives and love-interests in the movies are attractive women.
  • Giacomo and Marina also used be a real life example, before they divorced.
  • Averted in Odio l'estate where Aldo and his wife are more like Chubby Mama, Skinny Papa, and Giacomo is the only one married to a woman much more attractive than him.
• Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: While they're more likable in the movies, in most of their sketches they're quite jerks and obnoxious with very little sympathetic qualities.
• Villain Protagonist: Aldo in Così è la Vita (before his Heel–Face Turn), all three of them in La Leggenda di Al John e Jack, being a parody of gangster movies.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Both in their shows and movies. Despite being shown to actually be close friends, they frequently insult, bicker and play pranks on each other. They're also known to be quite like this in real life.
• Windbag Politician: Honourable Nullazzo, a politician played by Aldo, makes long speeches about his private life that revolve about boasting his supposed sex appeal and insulting his own wife.
• Working with the Ex: Marina, who worked with the trio a lot, is actually Giacomo's ex-wife. They were still working together after the divorce.
• World of Bad Cops: The "Busto Garolfo Cops" sketch series portrays them as such, with Giovanni acting as the superior to the other two. Aldo's cop persona - codename Dexter - has a tendency to slack off at work and often ends up sucked into the stuff he's supposed to search for, causing more harm than good in the process. On the other hand, Giacomo's cop persona - codename Sugar - is a by all means a sadistic Rabid Cop who frequently indulges in Comedic Sociopathy of the highest order all while boasting about being "scientifically speaking, a bastard."