"Les Tuche 3" is part of a larger series, but I've never seen either of its predecessors. Still, I hold to the theory that every individual movie should be intelligible on its own merits, which, to be fair, this one indeed was. The movie tells a tale about an eccentric family led by hirsute pater familias Jeff Tuche. Upon discovering that the TGV (the French ultra-rapid train) doesn't stop in his town, Jeff Tuche throws himself into national politics. He even participates in the race for Président de la République - and then it's up up and away...
So what you get here is a comedy/farce on a classic idea, to wit, what happens when a completely unexpected outsider suddenly finds himself a king or a president ? This premise, of course, involves an element of general self-flattery, since every warm body in the audience will think : "If I were to lead this country, I would make a damn fine job of it - and what's more, I would astound with my no-nonsense honesty and wisdom".
Now some things work well, others don't. The Tuche clan feels as though it sprang from a comic book or a comedy animation series, meaning that you're dealing with more or less cartoonish characters. ("The Simpsons" immediately springs to mind, especially with regard to Marge.) These Tuche sometimes seem to hail from a different universe than the other characters. Moreover, much of the story seems to have been constructed in order to support the jokes and one-liners, rather than the other way round.
On the plus side, the movie shoots some welcome arrows at French politics and at the French presidency, which is quite as fond of tradition and prestige as any monarchy. Considered against this background the official photograph of Jeff Tuche becomes quite funny ; normally you'd expect a carefully composed portrait of some well-groomed politician, dressed to the nines, trying to look visionary, stern and approachable at the same time. Even the hallowed French cuisine gets a panning, since "Les Tuche 3" contains a running gag about a superbly qualified chef who needs to prepare fries for the first lady. This turns into a difficult assignment, as Mrs. Tuche has deep-rooted convictions about the best way in which to prepare Earth's apples. (As a Belgian I rather approve of her approach.)
As to the manner in which foreign leaders are depicted : let's all hope that Germany's Mrs. Merkel isn't fond of French comedies...
Highlight : the political debate where Jeff Tuche provokes the incumbent president by mocking his ears. The result is a giant meltdown, during which the president lists the many, many categories of people who frost his shorts, which turns out to be 99 % of the French population.
So what you get here is a comedy/farce on a classic idea, to wit, what happens when a completely unexpected outsider suddenly finds himself a king or a president ? This premise, of course, involves an element of general self-flattery, since every warm body in the audience will think : "If I were to lead this country, I would make a damn fine job of it - and what's more, I would astound with my no-nonsense honesty and wisdom".
Now some things work well, others don't. The Tuche clan feels as though it sprang from a comic book or a comedy animation series, meaning that you're dealing with more or less cartoonish characters. ("The Simpsons" immediately springs to mind, especially with regard to Marge.) These Tuche sometimes seem to hail from a different universe than the other characters. Moreover, much of the story seems to have been constructed in order to support the jokes and one-liners, rather than the other way round.
On the plus side, the movie shoots some welcome arrows at French politics and at the French presidency, which is quite as fond of tradition and prestige as any monarchy. Considered against this background the official photograph of Jeff Tuche becomes quite funny ; normally you'd expect a carefully composed portrait of some well-groomed politician, dressed to the nines, trying to look visionary, stern and approachable at the same time. Even the hallowed French cuisine gets a panning, since "Les Tuche 3" contains a running gag about a superbly qualified chef who needs to prepare fries for the first lady. This turns into a difficult assignment, as Mrs. Tuche has deep-rooted convictions about the best way in which to prepare Earth's apples. (As a Belgian I rather approve of her approach.)
As to the manner in which foreign leaders are depicted : let's all hope that Germany's Mrs. Merkel isn't fond of French comedies...
Highlight : the political debate where Jeff Tuche provokes the incumbent president by mocking his ears. The result is a giant meltdown, during which the president lists the many, many categories of people who frost his shorts, which turns out to be 99 % of the French population.
