I saw this movie out of curiosity, 'cause the plot summaries i had read in the press suggested a pretty silly movie...and i love silly movies! So we've got this young couple (Clovis Cornillac and Julie Depardieu) who has just bought a house which,as the young man will soon discover, is haunted by five disco-addict gay poltergeists... and he's the only one able to see them and hear them party all night in his basement. You've got the picture. Well, the movie ain't BAD...but doesn't match expectations. The acting is average, the original idea is good but i expected a lot more funny stuff (there are a few really funny lines but that's about all you'll get), the directing is absolutely common... and that's a pity because the storyline is corny enough for us to expect loads of stupid jokes and ideas. In the end, not a bad one, but kinda disappointing...
9 Reviews
Surprisingly Witty and Funny
claudio_carvalho3 August 2016
The foreman Marc Modena (Clovis Cornillac) and his beloved girlfriend Emma (Julie Depardieu) buy an old house expecting to raise a family of their own. Soon Marc sees five gay clubbers partying all the nights in the basement and disturbing him with the loud music. However Emma does not see the men and believes Marc is getting crazy; then she leaves him. Marc researches the Internet and finds that the basement of his house was a gay nightclub. In 1979, it has blown-up and five bodies have not been found. Marc also contacts a medium that explains that only straight people are able to see the ghosts that are trapped in the house. Meanwhile Marc befriends the gay ghosts and they decide to help him to get Emma back.
"Poltergay" is one of those films that a straight viewer has lower expectation; however, it is surprisingly witty and funny since it is not racy. Most of the jokes are silly and even naive but make laugh. But the characters are charismatic and the film is entertaining. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Poltergay"
"Poltergay" is one of those films that a straight viewer has lower expectation; however, it is surprisingly witty and funny since it is not racy. Most of the jokes are silly and even naive but make laugh. But the characters are charismatic and the film is entertaining. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Poltergay"
A Nutshell Review: Poltergay
DICK STEEL21 August 2007
I'll have to admit that Poltergay is a lot of fun, for straight folks and gay folks alike. It's probably something that Kelvin Tong's Men in White could have been - smart, witty and with that level of cheekiness, without almost always falling flat on its jokes. If it could have been at least what Poltergay was, then it won't have to suffer the misery of a relatively poor box office, or DVDs that I think most people would stand around the shops to watch for free, rather than to purchase a copy for personal consumption.
The plot for Poltergay is a no brainer. Married couple Marc (Clovis Cornillac) and Emma (Julie Depardieu) move into an old dilapidated house at a bargain price. While slowly converting it to livable conditions, it turns out that Marc begins to hear things (extremely loud music at 0155hrs each time), before suddenly realizing there're 5 queer men living in his cellar. However, it seems that he's the only one who can see these fellas, and before you know it, he's branded mad, and runs into martial troubles because, well, it's a gay themed movie, so naturally, everyone around thinks that Marc is a closet gay, secretly fantasizing about men, and 5 of them no less!
What I liked about the movie is how it incorporated the gay moments into the story and the jokes quite seamlessly, and introduced perhaps in an extremely novel way, the rationale behind ghost-spotting. It certainly took the mickey out of a lot of things, and brought out some laughter in subtle, razor sharp manner. However it is not without its flaws, as the introduction was a tad too draggy, and I thought took about an hour before the pace and the comedy picks up, and suddenly, there was a big squeeze of plenty of smaller subplots into the last 30 minutes, including the resolution and finale. Essentially it boiled down to screwing up, wrecking havoc, before the ghouls decided to help Marc get back to this normal life again.
And the ghouls were pretty hilarious in themselves, with their penchant for tight clothing, and their disco dancing ways to Boney M's Rasputin for instance, injecting a certain amount of retro disco energy when they get down to boogeying the night away. Their individual characters could not be any different from one another, with for instance, a closet heterosexual (oh!), a gay couple, one nursing a broken heart, and one who likes to replicate his male manhood at almost every conceivable object he can get his hands on.
It didn't have to rely on crude toilet humour, nor plenty of slapstick moments to bring on the laughs. What it had was a refreshing take on the horror-comedy genre, with a twist of the queer for good measure. Like I mentioned, it's enjoyable fluff, good enough for those stressed out workdays where you need some light hearted relief to keep your sanity.
The plot for Poltergay is a no brainer. Married couple Marc (Clovis Cornillac) and Emma (Julie Depardieu) move into an old dilapidated house at a bargain price. While slowly converting it to livable conditions, it turns out that Marc begins to hear things (extremely loud music at 0155hrs each time), before suddenly realizing there're 5 queer men living in his cellar. However, it seems that he's the only one who can see these fellas, and before you know it, he's branded mad, and runs into martial troubles because, well, it's a gay themed movie, so naturally, everyone around thinks that Marc is a closet gay, secretly fantasizing about men, and 5 of them no less!
What I liked about the movie is how it incorporated the gay moments into the story and the jokes quite seamlessly, and introduced perhaps in an extremely novel way, the rationale behind ghost-spotting. It certainly took the mickey out of a lot of things, and brought out some laughter in subtle, razor sharp manner. However it is not without its flaws, as the introduction was a tad too draggy, and I thought took about an hour before the pace and the comedy picks up, and suddenly, there was a big squeeze of plenty of smaller subplots into the last 30 minutes, including the resolution and finale. Essentially it boiled down to screwing up, wrecking havoc, before the ghouls decided to help Marc get back to this normal life again.
And the ghouls were pretty hilarious in themselves, with their penchant for tight clothing, and their disco dancing ways to Boney M's Rasputin for instance, injecting a certain amount of retro disco energy when they get down to boogeying the night away. Their individual characters could not be any different from one another, with for instance, a closet heterosexual (oh!), a gay couple, one nursing a broken heart, and one who likes to replicate his male manhood at almost every conceivable object he can get his hands on.
It didn't have to rely on crude toilet humour, nor plenty of slapstick moments to bring on the laughs. What it had was a refreshing take on the horror-comedy genre, with a twist of the queer for good measure. Like I mentioned, it's enjoyable fluff, good enough for those stressed out workdays where you need some light hearted relief to keep your sanity.
Une Grande Surprise
DoctorThotcer13 February 2022
It's not the silly slapstick parody the title & plot summation may suggest, there are certainly some good belly laughs, but it gradually becomes more of a romantic feel good comedy.
There's a lot of clever plotting and funny scenes, some a tad cringy but purposely so, for those who may need fair warning there's a fair bit of male nudity and obviously some gay situations, but it's all played for laughs.
It's no La Cage Aux Folles, but I definitely enjoyed it a heck of a lot more than I expected to.
On a final note, I know enough French to know the English subtitles are pretty toned down from what is actually said, which is a shame, but you won't need to speak any to get the full effect, you'll get the idea.
Worth a look!
There's a lot of clever plotting and funny scenes, some a tad cringy but purposely so, for those who may need fair warning there's a fair bit of male nudity and obviously some gay situations, but it's all played for laughs.
It's no La Cage Aux Folles, but I definitely enjoyed it a heck of a lot more than I expected to.
On a final note, I know enough French to know the English subtitles are pretty toned down from what is actually said, which is a shame, but you won't need to speak any to get the full effect, you'll get the idea.
Worth a look!
Very good movie
joshyposhy1241327 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Try to catch this film if you can. A typical French quirky movie with endearing characters and amazingly a believable plot! The newlyweds end up in a old house that had a gay disco in the basement 30 years before that was destroyed by a fire and left the five disco queens in limbo stuck in time in their satin suits and feather boas..the subsequent boy loses girl scenario is played out against a background of Boney M and dancing lessons but you'll laugh out loud at the characters. Watch out for the ghostbuster who is an eccentric Mc Donalds maniac with some of the best lines in the film,Lots of French humour so you'll need the version with subtitles or at least O level French!
Entertaining all the same...
sm_edwards8429 October 2006
We've just got back from France where this movie has just started showing. Although our French is a bit patchy - well, very patchy, we decided to go and see this movie as it looked like it might be really good.
It includes great music including Boney M's Rasputin which, for reasons that will become clear when you watch the movie, is played more times than I've had hot dinners this year.
Despite missing some of the dialogue jokes (we could tell when others were laughing) I really enjoyed this movie. There are good performances from the cast who really enter into the spirit of camping it up. I guess what I liked about it was that it wasn't as spoof as something like the scary movie films - but at the same time it took the opportunity to be a bit silly whilst preserving a certain level of realism.
They didn't really make a huge amount of use of special effects which actually worked really well as when they did pull the stops out for a scene it was actually pretty impressive which enabled you to share in the characters sense of disbelief.
In short, it was funny and basically just a bit silly - the perfect evenings entertainment. Can't wait for the release of the DVD which I am now desperately hoping will have English sub-titles so I can go back and fully enjoy the poltergay experience!
It includes great music including Boney M's Rasputin which, for reasons that will become clear when you watch the movie, is played more times than I've had hot dinners this year.
Despite missing some of the dialogue jokes (we could tell when others were laughing) I really enjoyed this movie. There are good performances from the cast who really enter into the spirit of camping it up. I guess what I liked about it was that it wasn't as spoof as something like the scary movie films - but at the same time it took the opportunity to be a bit silly whilst preserving a certain level of realism.
They didn't really make a huge amount of use of special effects which actually worked really well as when they did pull the stops out for a scene it was actually pretty impressive which enabled you to share in the characters sense of disbelief.
In short, it was funny and basically just a bit silly - the perfect evenings entertainment. Can't wait for the release of the DVD which I am now desperately hoping will have English sub-titles so I can go back and fully enjoy the poltergay experience!
A little gem
rwilbald2 April 2021
Every now and so often you stumble across a movie you don't think much about, but it turns out to be a little gem.
Poltergay is one of those movies.
It's near perfect and doesn't deserve the relatively low rating it gets here.
The plot is simple, but the writing, directing & acting are superb. This movie makes you laugh and cry - sometimes at the same time.
The humour is soooo silly, almost innocently sweet, there is no hidden agenda, no big political statements, just good natured fun with a big heart.
Yes, a couple of the jokes fall flat, but you can forgive that because overall, this is a truly wonderful crazy ride.
Cast is top notch, length & pacing is good, and even the sometimes silly special effects are supporting the story perfectly.
Give it a go, whether you're straight or gay - you will love it.
Poltergay is one of those movies.
It's near perfect and doesn't deserve the relatively low rating it gets here.
The plot is simple, but the writing, directing & acting are superb. This movie makes you laugh and cry - sometimes at the same time.
The humour is soooo silly, almost innocently sweet, there is no hidden agenda, no big political statements, just good natured fun with a big heart.
Yes, a couple of the jokes fall flat, but you can forgive that because overall, this is a truly wonderful crazy ride.
Cast is top notch, length & pacing is good, and even the sometimes silly special effects are supporting the story perfectly.
Give it a go, whether you're straight or gay - you will love it.
It's perfect.
bedras24 January 2008
An excellent French comedy.
Someone may say that it lacks fun... hmmm, well, yeah, it lacks oh so stupid jokes about shitting, vomiting and such stuff. Those who laugh about other things will like Poltergay very likely.
A little bit of sex, psycho and disco. The cast is spectacular. The main characters are fun, but guys who play gay parts are absolutely amazing. They all act very lifelike, without rude caricature or something.
The thing I liked most - joking around about tolerance and respect and other things that really make sense in our daily life. The movie has the idea in it along with lots of laugh during the whole thing.
In common, it's very fluffy and good to watch to raise your mood. I watched it several times and laughed each time like it was the first one.
Someone may say that it lacks fun... hmmm, well, yeah, it lacks oh so stupid jokes about shitting, vomiting and such stuff. Those who laugh about other things will like Poltergay very likely.
A little bit of sex, psycho and disco. The cast is spectacular. The main characters are fun, but guys who play gay parts are absolutely amazing. They all act very lifelike, without rude caricature or something.
The thing I liked most - joking around about tolerance and respect and other things that really make sense in our daily life. The movie has the idea in it along with lots of laugh during the whole thing.
In common, it's very fluffy and good to watch to raise your mood. I watched it several times and laughed each time like it was the first one.
I can't really overstate how much I love this film
susyhawkes3 August 2014
This is a gay/straight film starring straight and gay people. To explain, the subject is sexuality, but presented in a way that straight men can watch it and feel comfortable and understood. For example, the film acknowledges how uncomfortable it is to be a straight/questioning man in a gay bar, it makes jokes about being gay as well as being straight and talks about sexuality so casually, with jokes and a lot of silliness (its called 'Poltergay' for heaven's sake) that it makes everyone feel comfortable without hitting anyone over the head with heavy-handed politics. Political films about sexuality like 'Philadelphia' and 'Boys Don't Cry' are important, necessary, often fantastic and can change people's thinking, but life isn't just about misery and seriousness. Sometimes its about fun (hopefully a lot more than it's about misery). Frankly, if more films and books could hide their serious political arguments in frothy silliness with winged penises and Boney M's 'Rasputin' playing throughout, maybe this'd be a slightly happier world. Because what this film is saying, in the style of Stonewall ads, while dancing in flares and holding snooker balls in the air in a faux-spooky fashion, is 'some people are gay. Get over it!'
It's one of my top five gay films, and one of my top five French films. Because it's a clever, silly, gay- and straight-friendly story anyone can keep up with and it's funny. Occasionally a joke falls flat, and sometimes the acting feels a bit forced. But the psychic with the McDonald's makes everyone I watch this with laugh out loud, and you find yourself really routing for the lead man to sort out his life, and for the gay poltergeists to get what they want too. It's just the right length and it's not off-puttingly filthy (insert dirty joke here). It's just fun.
It's one of my top five gay films, and one of my top five French films. Because it's a clever, silly, gay- and straight-friendly story anyone can keep up with and it's funny. Occasionally a joke falls flat, and sometimes the acting feels a bit forced. But the psychic with the McDonald's makes everyone I watch this with laugh out loud, and you find yourself really routing for the lead man to sort out his life, and for the gay poltergeists to get what they want too. It's just the right length and it's not off-puttingly filthy (insert dirty joke here). It's just fun.
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