Tolo Tolo

Tolo Tolo follows Checco, a dreamer from the Apulian town of Spinazzola who turns down welfare payments to open a sushi restaurant. The venture collapses after a month, leaving him drowning in debt, so he flees to Africa to escape his creditors and the tax authorities. There he finds work as a waiter at a resort in Kenya, but when civil war breaks out he joins a group of African friends attempting the crossing to Europe on a migrant boat. Their destination is not Italy, though, but Liechtenstein, chosen for its banking secrecy and lighter tax burden. The film is a comedy with dramatic and family elements, built around a journey rather than a single joke.

Checco Zalone directs and stars as the lead, and he co-wrote the screenplay with Paolo Virzì. The supporting cast includes Manda Touré, Nassor Said Birya and Souleymane Sylla, with Barbara Bouchet among the credited performers. Pietro Valsecchi produced, and the film was made in Italy and Morocco by Medusa Film, Sky Cinema, Taodue Film and Lions Production & Service. It marked Zalone's move into directing a feature after his earlier successes as a screen performer.

The production had a budget of about 20 million USD and took roughly 52 million USD worldwide, a strong return on its cost. The film runs 94 minutes. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.7 from around 5,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.1 from over 1,300 votes, suggesting audiences found it moderately satisfying rather than outstanding.