Die große Pfeife

This film is based on the comics of Junior. It's about the rude and blunt father and the sophisticated and sensitive Junior, who is immensely popular with beautiful women. Senior loves comics, junior reads books. Junior spends evenings TALKING with women, much to the horror of Senior. The battle between the sexes, but also between an old and new era, these are recurring themes in the works of cartoonist Wolinski, who died in last January in the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

It could have been an interesting politically incorrect satire, based on the gags from the comic. But it isn't. Though it is quite watchable for about 30 minutes, until a weird story unfolds and it gradually changes into a regular Maccione madcap comedy, and it gets tiresome. Of course Wolinski and director Schulmann had to make up a couple of story lines but this (a silly story about a hardresser being a cover up for a brothel) seems a bad choice. It is not funny and has nothing to do with the characters Junior and Senior, nor the spirit of the comic.

It is actually a common problem with films from comics that exist entirely from gags. They tend to result in average comedies. Another example is the film Fais Gaffe à la Gaffe, taken from Franquin's comic of Gaston.

That said, not all is so bad. Both Junior and Aldo are good casts. I am not a fan of Aldo Maccione, but in this film he is perfect as the father (in the title named Aldo after the actor I suppose). Riton Liebman is also convincing as his son Junior. And it's as 80's as it can get. Viewers with a weakness for the kitsch of the 80's will love this film. Hacking into the computer of a dating agency. Terrible music. Absurd hairdos. The clothes from another planet. I rate this 5/10, for a reasonable first part.