| Hot Potato | |
| Director: | Steno |
| Starring: | Renato Pozzetto |
| Music: | Totò Savio |
| Cinematography: | Giorgio Arlorio |
| Editing: | Raimondo Crociani |
| Producer: | Achille Manzotti |
| Runtime: | 100 minutes |
| Country: | Italy |
| Language: | Italian |
Hot Potato (Italian: La patata bollente) is a 1979 Commedia all'italiana film directed by Steno. The film discusses a range of issues such as homophobia in the political left, Anni di piombo violence, working class culture, and the sustainability of Eurocommunism.[1]
Bernardo Mambelli nicknamed "il Gandi" (Renato Pozzetto) is a PCI militant and pugilist working at a Milanese paint factory. One night, he sees a fascist gang beating a frail young man (Massimo Ranieri). He saves the man and brings him to his house to learn that he is Claudio, a homosexual. With nowhere to go and recovering from the assault, Claudio starts staying at Bernardo's house but a series of typical misunderstandings lead his comrades as well as his girlfriend Maria (Edwige Fenech) to believing that he has "turned gay". Bernardo is now seen as a potential lost cause and the ongoings soon reveal a "hot potato" situation for him.
The film was initially conceived as a segment of a two-part film titled "Fa male michiare" directed by Nanni Loy; the two segments were eventually developed into full-length films, the other of them becoming Loy's Café Express.[2]