The King of Laughter

The King of Laughter (Italian: Qui rido io, lit. 'Here I laugh') is a 2021 Italian-Spanish biographical drama film directed by Mario Martone about actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta's legal battle against Gabriele D'Annunzio over his parody of the latter's The Daughter of Iorio (1904). Toni Servillo stars as Scarpetta.

The King of Laughter
Theatrical release poster
Italian	Qui rido io
Directed by	Mario Martone
Screenplay by	Mario Martone Ippolita Di Majo
Story by	Mario Martone Ippolita Di Majo
Produced by	Nicola Giuliano Francesca Cima Carlotta Calori
Starring	Toni Servillo Maria Nazionale Cristiana Dell'Anna Antonia Truppo Eduardo Scarpetta Roberto De Francesco Lino Musella Marzia Onorato Paolo Pierobon Gianfelice Imparato Iaia Forte
Cinematography	Renato Berta
Edited by	Jacopo Quadri
Production companies	Indigo Film Rai Cinema Tornasol
Distributed by	01 Distribution
Release dates	7 September 2021 (2021-09-07) (Venice) 9 September 2021 (2021-09-09) (Italy)
Running time	133 minutes
Countries	Italy Spain
Languages	Italian, Neapolitan

The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 78th Venice International Film Festival.^[1]

Cast

• Toni Servillo as Eduardo Scarpetta
• Maria Nazionale as Rosa De Filippo–Scarpetta
• Cristiana Dell'Anna as Luisa De Filippo
• Antonia Truppo as Adelina De Renzis
• Eduardo Scarpetta as Vincenzo Scarpetta
• Roberto De Francesco as Salvatore Di Giacomo
• Lino Musella as Benedetto Croce
• Paolo Pierobon as Gabriele D'Annunzio
• Giovanni Mauriello as Mirone
• Chiara Baffi as 'Nennella' De Filippo
• Roberto Caccioppoli as 'Mimì' Scarpetta
• Lucrezia Guidone as Irma Gramatica
• Elena Ghiaurov as Lyda Borelli
• Gigio Morra as president of the court
• Gianfelice Imparato as Gennaro Pantalena
• Iaia Forte as Rosa Gagliardi
• Greta Esposito as Maria Scarpetta [it]
• Alessandro Manna as Eduardo De Filippo
• Marzia Onorato as Titina De Filippo
• Salvatore Battista as Peppino De Filippo
• Aldo Minei as Eduardello De Filippo
• Tommaso Bianco as Uncle Pasqualino
• Benedetto Casillo as Luca
• Francesco Di Leva as photographer
• Giovanni Ludeno as Ferdinando Russo
• Nello Mascia as examining magistrate

Reception

The King of Laughter has an approval rating of 67% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 9 reviews, and an average rating of 6/10.^[2]

Reviewing the film for Variety at the Venice Film Festival, Guy Lodge wrote, "Martone’s film certainly appears to channel the spirit of Scarpetta, though its 18-course tribute banquet doesn’t leave you particularly hungry to investigate further."^[3]