Petri himself stated that Good News resembles The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, a soft-hearted fantasy from the forties. Giancarlo Giannini plays a media executive leading a drab, average existence. One day he bumps into an old classmate, Gualtiero, who is scared stiff following a threat on his life. Convinced the old chum is suffering from a persecution complex, he and Gualtiero's wife have him committed to an asylum. Interwoven with this intrigue is an attempt by our hero to break out of his humdrum life through unconsummated flings with office mates and "nympho" wives. The bad news about Good News is that it's all bad news. The urban landscape is bristling with rot, eros has lost its appeal, and everyone's life is swamped by triviality. Petri's black humor condemns the men to impotence and self-pity and the women to fend for themselves. Where is Danny Kaye when we need him?