Johnny Stecchino

After failing to flirt at a soiree, Dante is nearly run over by Maria's car. He is surprised by her presence and notices something uncanny about him. This chance encounter triggers Maria's plan to exploit his resemblance to Johnny Stecchino.

Maria reveals that Dante bears a striking resemblance to her husband Johnny Stecchino, a mobster. She begins turning Dante into Johnny by dressing him in a similar suit and tie, adding a faux mole, and insisting he chew a toothpick at all times. She even suggests the ruse could help them escape to South America.

In Cesena, Dante works as a bus driver for students with Down syndrome while secretly defrauding the government with a fake disability claim. He also steals bananas from greengrocers, painting a picture of a morally flexible character. His best friend Lillo is a diabetic student who often resists sweets.

Dante runs into Maria again near his apartment, and she pushes him toward Palermo as part of the plan to confuse others about his identity. She begins to take him to Palermo to organize the escape for Johnny and his double. Maria continues grooming him as if he were Johnny.

At the train station, Dante meets D'Agata, a cocaine user who pretends to take diabetes medicine. When Dante asks about cocaine, D'Agata offers evasive answers, highlighting the dangerous semantics surrounding their meeting. The moment underscores the looming underworld pressure on Dante's double identity.

Dante tries to steal a banana from a greengrocer and is spotted by mobsters who mistake him for Johnny. They open fire, and Dante narrowly escapes by running toward the police. He recounts the absurd incident to the police chief, who treats it as a serious crime but hints at a mercy through confession.

The police chief questions Dante's confession and tells him that if he formally returns the banana and confesses publicly, he might be forgiven. The strange mercy underscores the surreal handling of a double identity case. Dante leaves conflicted, uncertain what counts as truth.

Dante meets Judge Cataratta, who mistakes him for Johnny and probes his motives. The judge urges Dante to retract the confession, seize the evidence, and demand front-page coverage to reveal the truth. The exchange heightens the public spectacle around the lookalike situation.

Maria takes Dante to an opera in Palermo to test whether the public will mistake him for Johnny. Dante endures jeers from the audience, interpreting the crowd's contempt as a punishment for perceived misdeeds. The performance solidifies the sense that his identity is whatever the crowd believes it to be.

Escorted to a private party with a politician who allies with Johnny, Dante is promised protection if they keep their meeting secret. As a troubling gift, the politician hands him a bag of cocaine, deepening the criminal ties surrounding the double identity. Maria's manipulation tightens as they pursue their cover story.

The next day, Maria learns of Johnny's plan to kill her 'uncle' after Dante's supposed death, complicating the plot. She drops Dante off at Cozzamara's barber shop, setting the stage for the planned assassination. Cozzamara's men grow suspicious of the faux Johnny as the plan progresses.

Cozzamara's men notice the faux facial mole and press Dante about his mother, a sensitive topic for Johnny. When Dante evasively answers that 'she is okay,' the tension increases, exposing gaps in his backstory. The mounting suspicion foreshadows the imminent confrontation.

At a gas station, Maria kisses Dante in an act meant to seal the Johnny identity to her advantage. Johnny steps toward the men's room to wash his face, only for armed mobsters to emerge from the stalls and seal his doom. The mobsters laugh at Dante's jokes and even sing a song he taught them.

Johnny accepts his fate as the mob closes in, while Maria drives Dante back to his apartment using his real name and promises to return. She leaves him behind as a free man to face a changed world. The film ends with Dante meeting Lillo outside his apartment, who then sniffs a bag of cocaine, mistaking it for medicine.