Firefighters (1985): Comedy Gold or Just…Burnt?

Alright, so I finally got around to watching "Firefighters" (1985), the one with the perpetually failing Squadra 17. I knew going in it was supposed to be a comedy, and yeah, there were definitely moments that got a chuckle out of me. The scene where they try to rescue the cat from the tree, only to end up setting the darn tree on fire? Classic physical comedy. But honestly, a lot of it felt...dated? Some of the jokes just didn't land, and the pacing was kind of all over the place. What I did appreciate was the underlying sense of pathos. These guys are genuinely trying, even if they're spectacularly incompetent. You almost feel sorry for them wasting away in that Settecamini barracks. There's a kind of bleakness to their existence that the slapstick tries to cover up, but it peeks through. I think, ultimately, that's why I kept watching - I wanted to see if they'd ever get a win. The lack of knowing who directed it also adds a strange kind of mystery to the whole thing, doesn't it? I will say that the sound design was not great. Some of the dialogue felt muffled, especially in the outdoor scenes. But the sets and costumes felt pretty authentic, which helped ground it a bit. So overall, is it a cinematic triumph? Absolutely not. But is it a fun, goofy movie with some surprising depth? Yeah, I think so. Might be worth a watch if you're in the mood for some cheesy 80s Italian humor. Just don't expect it to extinguish your boredom entirely. Final thought: somebody needs to locate the director of this, just so we can ask 'em, "What were you THINKING with that scene where the ladder broke?"