The ending of Real Men is about consequences. The story centers on Luigi, Mattia, Riccardo, and Massimo, four men who have been friends since college. Luigi married Tiziana and had two children with her, but Tiziana decided to leave Luigi and date her personal trainer. Mattia married Federica and had Emma, but the couple decided to separate, leaving Emma in a bind.
Riccardo was in a relationship with Ilenia, whom he cheated on with Valentina, but when Ilenia recommended an open relationship, Riccardo's life began to fall apart. Massimo was in a relationship with Daniela, but when he lost his job and she started earning just enough to eat, he felt his masculinity was in danger. Because Mattia felt his reactions to his particular situations were particularly misogynistic and toxic, they began attending a course to unlearn their patriarchal habits. Did they succeed or fail? Let's find out.
Stars: Angelo Faraci, Giulia Eugeni, Matteo Martari
Luigi worked as a bus driver, and Tiziana was an instructor at a driving school. Despite their busy schedules, Luigi made sure his children, Francesco and Sara, weren't neglected and that they ate, slept, and were on time for school. Tiziana contributed to the family as best she could, but since Luigi was always too exhausted to get excited about sex, she decided to cheat on him with his personal trainer, Guglielmo. When the truth came out, Luigi went to live with his mother while Tiziana alternated between her house and Guglielmo's humble abode.
Eventually, she realized she couldn't spend her entire life with Guglielmo and wanted some stability with Luigi. So, when Luigi and Tiziana briefly reunited to celebrate Francesco's birthday, they couldn't help but re-explore their bodies and cancel their plans to break up the family. And that just felt weird. I understand that the series is about understanding masculinity, patriarchy, misogyny, and the like. But that doesn't mean infidelity can simply be excused. One could argue that if one half of a couple agrees to forgive the other, who are we to judge?
However, the problem is that it sets a precedent. This isn't a true story. These characters are generalizations of real people. So, when a sensitive guy like Luigi is cheated on by a touch-starved woman like Tiziana, and then the former forgives the latter because they've suddenly rekindled their passion and have the kids to think about, it feels like an excuse. Sure, Tiziana insists that her decision to cheat on Luigi "is nobody's fault," though she really means that Luigi's lack of libido makes it all his fault, but cheating is always a choice.
You don't trip over your shoelaces and end up cheating on your partner. I don't know if real-life people suffer the consequences of such actions, but when someone goes to the effort of creating a fictional series called Real Men to talk about real issues men face, it would have been great if the showrunners had remained committed to their cause and set an example of what men should do if the women in their lives resort to adultery.
Mattia and Federica were getting divorced because Federica had been unfaithful with his family doctor. Federica was also a control freak, so Emma didn't want to stay with her. She moved into Mattia's house and, realizing that her father was still getting over his separation from Federica, tasked him with sleeping with ten women. Emma went on about the importance of experimentation and sexual curiosity while she was in a relationship with a German man named Gustav. She claimed they were only together for sex, but it was obvious Emma was in love with Gustav.
Eventually, Emma realized she hadn't practiced what she preached, and it broke her heart. Around the same time, Mattia and Federica filed for divorce, but later got back together. Even Gustav and Emma apparently got back together after the former begged for forgiveness. So what was the point of this whole subplot? I understand Gustav and Emma being unsure of what they meant to each other and figuring things out as they went.
Riccardo ran a bistro with Carlo. Riccardo was in a relationship with Ilenia. Carlo was in a relationship with Valentina. Riccardo and Valentina were both cheating on each other. But when Ilenia suggested they turn their exclusive relationship into an open one, Riccardo got upset. His hypocrisy was evident from the start. He was shocked to learn that his parents had been quite experimental during their marriage, which is why they were still together in their 80s, but he didn't have the capacity to reflect and acknowledge that he was an adulterous jerk, which is far more "scandalous" than two people in a consensual open relationship. He was so horrified by the whole thing that his parents had to go and tell Ilenia that her decision to force Riccardo into this flexible arrangement was wrong. So she went ahead and made her relationship with Riccardo exclusive again. What did Riccardo do after that? He tried to fornicate with Valentina, Carlo found out, and he was fired from his job. So, it was quite satisfying to see Ilenia kick Riccardo out of her life after learning of his infidelity. In fact, she found out that Riccardo was sleeping with Valentina long before all this open relationship shenanigans began, and that he was giving Ilenia trouble because, according to him, it was okay for him to be physically intimate with other people, but he couldn't tolerate Ilenia doing the same.
The man was unemployed and homeless, and had lost the love of his life, all because of his strange ideas about masculinity and femininity. He attended Massimo's seminars on how men were mistreated due to the rise of feminism. However, by cheating on her with Valentina, he was betraying another man, Carlo, thus perpetuating the cycle of insecurity that men suffer, which pushes them to attend seminars that tell them the real problem is women, not men who betray others. It was an excellent way to highlight that a man's worst enemy is another man. Men look down on women for everything from their clothes to their jobs. But they'll never consider that, in doing so, they're not only mistreating a woman who has achieved basic rights after years of struggle, but also hurting the men in her life. Where's the "masculinity" in that? So, yes, after watching Riccardo behave so horribly, his punishment seemed appropriate. He deserved worse, but it felt good to face the consequences of his horrible actions. Now, when you compare that to the treatment Tiziana and Federica received, doesn't it seem strange? Those two women were more or less as unfaithful and disloyal as Riccardo. Why did they forgive them? Sure, Tiziana showed some remorse, but it seemed like her decision to leave Guglielmo had more to do with their living conditions than her guilt. I don't know if Federica even expressed it. So why so much leniency toward them? Where is equality now?
It seemed impossible to overcome Riccardo's disgusting behavior, but Massimo made it look like a piece of cake. Massimo was the programming director at a television studio, but he was fired for his sexist behavior. So, to support their expensive lifestyle, his partner, Daniela, started working as a content creator. Sure, her content focused on their dog, Baguette, but that was better than being jobless. Eventually, their housekeeper, Maria, also started making vlogs and dance videos. And Massimo couldn't tolerate the fact that they were the family members earning money instead of a man. So he started a program called "Rebuilding Manhood," for men like him who thought masculinity was endangered by feminism. His misogyny and regressive thoughts were rewarded by other misogynistic and regressive men, and he quickly surpassed Daniela in popularity. Because Daniela presented herself as a "strong, independent woman," which wasn't entirely true because she had indeed benefited after living off Massimo's money for so long, her image suffered when her followers discovered how sexist her partner was. She lost everything, while he was invited back to her old studio for an interview with a popular journalist named Selvaggia.
Massimo interpreted this as a restoration of the status quo, but as soon as the interview began, he realized he'd dug his own grave by failing to defend all the outdated statements he'd made on his show. The final nail in the coffin, which he didn't know lay there, came with a call from Daniela, who announced their breakup on live television because she couldn't tolerate his cheating and because living with him was actively damaging her, both professionally and personally. When Massimo arrived home, Daniela and Maria were about to leave. Since Riccardo had been kicked out of the house, he was the only company Massimo had. Although they both hugged, as if it were a very sad moment, it was actually great to see these two horrible men get what they deserved. There were several moments where Massimo could have collaborated with Daniela and created an online show where they combined their skills to make a lot of money. But no. Massimo had to undo all the progress Daniela had made to feel "like a man." Well, since his "manly" image had been shattered on live television, he had all the time in the world to think about whether or not one should strive to "feel manly" if it meant sacrificing his loved ones.
In the Real Men finale, there was a two-month time jump, and we saw the four friends going to their alma mater to relive old memories. Massimo was trying to sell his villa. Riccardo was trying to break into the dog spa business. Luigi and Tiziana's relationship was going strong. And Mattia still hadn't told Emma that he hadn't finalized his divorce from Federica, and that they were back together. After that exchange, the guys played soccer with the university students in slow motion, while the music swelled to indicate that the protagonists had achieved something. That was really confusing. I mean, this series was supposed to be about men unlearning toxic masculinity, right? Luigi and Mattia's achievement was to forgive their respective unfaithful wives. Riccardo showed no change, and the same can be said for Massimo. So what was the point of that "healthy" ending?
Should I be happy for these men who, after going through all this ordeal, still supported each other? Should I feel melancholy that these men, who just wanted to enjoy life, were forced to realize they weren't good people? I just don't know. I think the show's intentions were good. It was going in the right direction, overall. But at some point, the creators realized that perhaps their anti-men message was a bit forced, and in an attempt to tone things down, they made a mess of it. Therefore, the whole exercise seems pointless. Men should be vulnerable with each other. They should be honest with each other. They should think a hundred times before telling someone they can trust them. They shouldn't practice discrimination. They should have values and the strength to defend them even in times of great crisis. Men shouldn't be allowed to "act like men" if it means hurting someone physically or psychologically. As a man, that's what I think about men and masculinity. I don't know what message Real Men want to convey.
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