Kind of bizarre, the film seems to be a real bad one (when i see the trailer), but from the beginning til the end I had a lot of fun! For me some scenes are really really cult! It s the first time that the actor Didier Benureau (french comic) had a really interresting character as a perverse bisexual "bourgeois". the realisator of this movie play also in "le fabuleux destin d amelie poulain" .. he played the writer who had never been published....!
10 Reviews
Hilarious, dark, fun.
diz-syd-633 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Our protagonist's life does not begin well, as a baby his parents fight and end up suiciding jointly over the balcony of their apartment. He is then brought up by an equally obnoxious aunt/uncle, so once he's an adult he moves to Paris. He works in an accountant's office for a moronic boss BUT he spies a gorgeous lady teaching ballet in the studio across the road from his office. He 'steals' her wallet and then phones her to return it (a muse to try and get a date) ... it all goes terribly wrong.
Not a big fan of comedy, I must say but this was absolutely brilliant. All set against the backdrop of Paris versus the Bretons in a soccer (football) final. There are some outrageously odd sight- gags, including many that are set in the background. Really worth backtracking and watching this for a second time when you're finished. Brilliant, love it, hilarious.
Not a big fan of comedy, I must say but this was absolutely brilliant. All set against the backdrop of Paris versus the Bretons in a soccer (football) final. There are some outrageously odd sight- gags, including many that are set in the background. Really worth backtracking and watching this for a second time when you're finished. Brilliant, love it, hilarious.
Hilarious late-night viewing
zena-11 September 2004
I caught this film by accident during a bout of insomnia and thought it side-splittingly funny. Reminded ever so slightly of "After Hours", a Martin Scorsese black comedy where a young man goes out one night and endures a series of misadventures before turning up in a full body cast at his office next morning. This, however, is lighter, funnier and definitely more entertaining as Gregoire gets into some far fetched but equally dangerous situations when everyone around him seems to be on drugs, armed and dangerous. These include a taxi driver whose German Shepherd takes the wheel. A few of the incidents could happen and have happened to all of us, such as the attempt to get photo copies or a call for telephone information form a coin operated call box.
A joke-after-joke superb french comedy.
makenai27 September 2004
This movie deserves a 10. Although it is a comedy with a simple story, nearly every line in the script tries to generate a comic situation or mock about something. Even when a wit remark isn't at hand, you can laugh at certain situations, like a dog driving a car or a goalkeeper without an arm in a soccer match. Yes, the movie has a gallery of particular characters. Also, the director knows how to exploit certain camera angles to give you meaningful details.
The only people who should not watch this excellent movie are those who: don't like foreign movies, don't want to read subtitles, don't understand soccer, don't take life with a grain of salt. If you are none of them, just give it a try. I did, and I ended watching it twice.
The only people who should not watch this excellent movie are those who: don't like foreign movies, don't want to read subtitles, don't understand soccer, don't take life with a grain of salt. If you are none of them, just give it a try. I did, and I ended watching it twice.
one of the best comedies
ilajustatore5 October 2007
I generally hate French movies (for reasons I would not like to state here) but this movie made me think twice and revise my attitude towards French movies. From now on I will bear and watch at least 10 minutes before I dismiss a French movie.
This was a comedy which was incredibly funny. I will not spoil anything I would just say I would rate it in the first 50 comedies of all times.
Also I like the fact that reality is combining extremely well with a little bit of fiction or just with exaggeration which makes the movie the more salty. Acting also extremely good.
I will not say more because there's nothing to say about such a film: you just have to watch it.
This was a comedy which was incredibly funny. I will not spoil anything I would just say I would rate it in the first 50 comedies of all times.
Also I like the fact that reality is combining extremely well with a little bit of fiction or just with exaggeration which makes the movie the more salty. Acting also extremely good.
I will not say more because there's nothing to say about such a film: you just have to watch it.
him against the world
dbdumonteil13 April 2004
If I had to give my opinion about this movie, I would say this: it is the meeting between "Amélie Poulain" (2001) and the Podalydès brothers' cinema. A shy and unassuming man would like to charm a woman, Odile. For this, he stole her wallet so as to arrange a date with her. She accepts. But what Grégoire doesn't know is that a series of unexpected events and disasters will turn his night into a nightmare. As we can see by reading this summary, the story rests on comparatively classical bases and Artus de Penguern (both the director and the main actor) told it with a zany and fanciful humor that gives birth to whacky comical situations. The meeting of two peaks of the French cinema (I must however admit that although I'm not very fond of "Amélie Poulain", I enjoy the Podalydès brothers' films) should give an entertaining success. But however, the movie doesn't work. All right, the comical sequences follow on from each other without injury times. All right, the presence of dreamlike sequences enables to lighten the movie (when Odile identifies with Mme Bovary). In another extent, through Grégoire's trouble, we can detect a caricature of French people who are (a little too) fond of football. A passion that can lead them to madness. The mayonnaise isn't thickening because there is too much ponderousness and not enough subtlety in Penguern's style. Because of this irritating fault that harms the film, it is difficult to laugh honestly and Odile should have crossed the street to reveal her love for Grégoire from the beginning. This latter wouldn't probably have known so much trouble...
This clumsy film was Penguern's first movie. Maybe, will he improve his style in next movies in the future.
This clumsy film was Penguern's first movie. Maybe, will he improve his style in next movies in the future.
Funny funny funny
nikola25 October 2001
It's a comedy and, well, it is funny !!! I mean, really funny ! It's one of the fastest French comedies I've seen this year. The story is not very important - the struggle of a shy french guy to get to his date, braving all sorts of "bad" people, catastrophies and accidents - but the treatment is. Great, great actors, a never-ending stream of gags, a very naive love story... I just loved it. Imagine an "After Hours", written by the Monty Python. Great !
Superb phsycodelic comedy
edmundo_ch26 November 2004
First of all this is the first french movie that i've ever seen. Personally I didn't know what to expect from. I even didn't know what was the movie about. Gregoire a single adult male, goes against practically everything to get what he deserves, a happy life with a girlfriend like him. All in all this is a great comedy that show us the mean of reaching our goals -no matter how small may they seem to other people- and how could they cost to us. There are some movies that show us this meaning by heart touching stories. Gregoire isn't one of these. Instead, this message is sent to us through a surrealistic experiences in which everything occurs to poor Gregoire. The man in fact is not the only starr in the movie, only the main guy. Certainly the great performances by the whole cast, the good score and also the very well done definition of the characters gave this movie a very particular touch. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to have a good time and a good story.
Overall big laughs and 10/10.
P.S. I just bought the DVD.
Overall big laughs and 10/10.
P.S. I just bought the DVD.
A late night gem that made me laugh so hard
vkaufmann12 September 2022
I'll make this short: it was excellent and I haven't laughed so hard in a while. As one reviewer wrote: it's a French 'After Hours' only better and is whimsically hysterical start to finish. While it's at it, it has some sweet poignancy mixed in - something only the French are able to accomplish without kitsch. I loved it. Make a point of looking for this one. Every single performance is stellar and never over the top yet totally over the top. I don't know but it just works.
The plot: a shy guy who works a dull job observes a ballet teacher across the street for weeks. Since he can't muster up enough courage to ask her out, he manages to steal her wallet which he intends to return to her - as the hero who found her purse. They arrange to meet on the night of a big football game in a café. While Odile (the woman) waits, she reads Madame Bovary. Like i said, After Hours with a sprinkle of Amelie mixed in.
Gregoire Moulin contre L'Humanité.
The plot: a shy guy who works a dull job observes a ballet teacher across the street for weeks. Since he can't muster up enough courage to ask her out, he manages to steal her wallet which he intends to return to her - as the hero who found her purse. They arrange to meet on the night of a big football game in a café. While Odile (the woman) waits, she reads Madame Bovary. Like i said, After Hours with a sprinkle of Amelie mixed in.
Gregoire Moulin contre L'Humanité.
great fun
acw20218 August 2006
I would recommend this movie to anyone who knows even just a little about modern France or French language. (I believe this movie is not subtitled.) I myself can read but not speak (much) of that wonderful language but there is enough visual storytelling and jokes to allow you to make with the ha-ha. Best scene for me: the inconsolable fans in the bar at the unhappy conclusion of the football game. The movie even has stylish ending credits where the hero finds himself in a Baroque or possibly Rococo French line dance during a masquerade ball. Artus de Penguern does a superb job as writer/director and as Gregoire, ever hopeful, but stymied lover of would-be Madame Bovary played by Pascale Arbillot.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
