Screw Loose

Bernardo Puccini visits the Italian natural food company and proves himself as a food examiner and flavour developer. He is delighted by a new cream cheese that contains no sugar, fat, or preservatives. Guido Puccini, his hot-tempered father, resents the direction and demands the use of chemical additives instead.

After a heated argument about the new cream cheese's formulation, Guido has a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital. Bernardo stands by as doctors work, including the elderly Dr. Caputo. The scare marks a turning point for both men and the business.

In the hospital, Guido recounts a WWII incident where a Virgin Mary statue fell and pinned him down, only to be saved by an American soldier named Jake Gordon. He makes Bernardo promise to go to America and deliver Jake to him as his last wish for half the business. Bernardo reluctantly accepts the plea, setting a long and dangerous task in motion.

Bernardo arrives in Los Angeles to seek Jake Gordon, who is believed to be alive but delusional after the war. He learns that Jake is housed in a mental hospital and plans to bring him back to Italy. A new mission becomes a complex, cross‑continental pursuit.

Sneaking into the secure facility, Bernardo reminds Jake that Guido saved him and convinces him to escape. The pair flee as staff pursue them, triggering a tense manhunt led by Dr. Barbara Collier and Dr. Hugo. The escape marks the first concrete break in the old man's plan.

As they travel toward Europe, Jake offers Bernardo a drink containing five dissolved sedative pills, which Bernardo unknowingly drinks. He awakens disoriented in a transit terminal and finds that Jake has vanished. Dr. Collier closes in as the pursuit resumes.

Recovered but groggy, Bernardo discovers that Jake has stolen his wallet and fled to Monte Carlo. Collier wants Jake returned to the hospital to avoid liability, while Bernardo insists Jake is essential to fulfilling Guido’s wish. The chase now shifts to Europe’s glamorous Riviera.

In Monte Carlo, Bernardo learns Jake checked in under his own name and heads to the beach to find him. Jake hides behind towels on topless sunbathers, but Bernardo inadvertently exposes an elderly sunbather, who reports him for harassment. He is arrested and later released with Collier's help.

Bernardo and Collier pursue Jake to the airport and set up a fake corridor to trap him, but Jake escapes in a truck. Bernardo is arrested again amid the ensuing chaos, and Collier begins to reevaluate the consequences of their pursuit. The pursuit strains Bernardo’s grip on reality.

In the police station, Bernardo recalls Jake’s practical jokes and how they feed his own compulsive behavior. Dr. Collier feels remorse and arranges for Bernardo and Jake to depart back to Italy. The journey marks a turning point toward reconciliation.

Back in Italy, Guido confronts Jake and strangles him in a vengeful outburst over the death of his wife. Jake explains that his supposedly deceased wife Giovanna was actually a man disguised as a woman. Dr. Collier intervenes and declares Jake a free man, ending his captivity for the moment.

Sofia returns with cosmetic innovations and urges the police to arrest Jake for insanity. Dr. Collier refuses to entangle herself in the trap and continues to advocate for Jake’s freedom. The tension between personal vanity and professional ethics comes to a head.

Bernardo denounces Sofia’s behavior, then convinces Guido to let him take over the family factory. He also learns that Dr. Caputo has died, leaving the business in a fragile state. This marks Bernardo’s strategic pivot toward leadership and independence.

Bernardo marries Dr. Collier and becomes Jake’s ally in a new arrangement at the hospital and factory. He pretends to dislike the cream cheese the way Guido did, signaling a shift in ambition and partnership. Jake, meanwhile, enjoys his ongoing 'treatments' alongside the duo.

In the closing moments, Jake triggers a moving pain by hitting Puccini’s leg with a golf club, and Bernardo runs away as Jake continues his odd ‘treatment.’ The film ends with unresolved tension between control, loyalty, and identity.