The film was a critical and commercial success, winning the David di Donatello in the Best Film Category and grossing more than €16 million in Italy. It has been remade more than 20 times.
Plot
On the evening of a total eclipse of the moon, seven close friends gather for a dinner party. Early in the meal, one of the friends, a relationship therapist named Eva, says that she is convinced that many couples would separate if they saw the messages on each other's phones. As the friends debate this contention, they agree—some of them reluctantly—to play a game. They will each place their phone on the table and they will share their messages and calls with the rest of the group.
At first, the game seems harmless; no one has anything to hide. Gradually, the calls and messages become more compromising. They reveal that one married woman is having an affair and that a man who has been pretending to have an absent girlfriend is not who he seems. As the calls continue, the network of lies and secrets becomes increasingly tangled. Almost no one at the table is spared. By the end of the night, the group's friendships, marriages, and romances have been shattered.[5]
As the guests leave the apartment, they behave as if nothing has happened. Each of their relationships are exactly as they were at the start of the evening. The game never happened, and everybody goes back to their own lives.
As of December 2017[update], remakes were underway in Qatar and Sweden.[36]
In February 2017, The Weinstein Company acquired the rights to an English-language remake.[37] In December 2019, Issa Rae was announced to write, star in, and produce the US remake with Spyglass Media Group, a subsidiary of Lantern Entertainment, which acquired the assets of The Weinstein Company after its bankruptcy.[38] In December 2023, producer Tarak Ben Ammar revealed that his Eagle Pictures was working on the remake with Italian filmmaker Carlo Carlei set to direct the film. Rae was no longer attached to star.[39]
Having been remade 24 times, the film was recognized as the most remade film in Guinness World Records.[40]
The Indian films Loudspeaker (2018) and 12th Man (2022) have been accused to have plagiarised Perfect Strangers.[41][42]1001 Nunakal (2022) was inspired by Perfect Strangers.[43]
Stage adaptations
A number of Spanish-language stage adaptations of Perfect Strangers have been produced. An Argentine adaptation directed by Guillermo Francella premiered in March 2018.[44] A Spanish version adapted by David Serrano and Daniel Guzmán and directed by Guzmán premiered on 26 September 2018.[45] A Uruguayan production premiered in April 2019.[46] A Peruvian adaptation premiered on 9 October 2019.[47] A Mexican production premiered in November 2019.[48] A Colombian production premiered in March 2022.[49]
An Israeli adaptation opened at the Habima Theatre on 22 November 2018.[50] Two Slovene adaptations opened in 2019 and 2023, respectively.[51][52]
An Italian adaptation, directed by Genovese himself, in his theatrical debut, premiered on 10 February 2023.[53][54]
