In the 80's, Claude Zidi was one of the most commercial directors in France, even winning a César for best director with the excellent "Les ripoux", starring Thierry Lhermitte and Philippe Noiret. It was with the former that her made, a year later, the comedy "Les rois du gag", an incide look at the world of comical cinema, by a director who certainly knew who to make it.
Claude Zidi had tried his hand again at comedies showing the world of cinema with "L'animal" (1977), which showed the adventures of a couple of stunt artists, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo and Raquel Welch. In "Les rois du gag", we follow the antics of two brothers, Paul (Gérard Jugnot) and François (Thierry Lhermitte), who work as a duo under the name of "Gagsters". In one of their shows, they meet the famous comedian Gaëtan (Michel Serrault) and create a trio. It is through this trio that Gaëtan becomes even more known and is offered the lead role in a play by a great director (also played by Serrault, parodying Orson Welles). It is now in his hands to decide which career to choose.
Claude Zidi offered with "Les rois du gag" a well-executed comedy. His direction is satisfactory, fast-paced enough to carry the plot, but it is through his actors'talent that the movie becomes a good comedy. Both Lhermitte and Jugnot had been members of the theatre troupe Le Splendid some years before the movie, showing great comedic talent in its performances and films. "Les rois du gag" was one of the films they played in, when they were still trying to cement their career as solo actors. Their performances here were great, Jugnot's neurotic character perfectly contrasting with Lhermitte's more reserved hero. Stealing the show - not for the last time- was Michel Serrault, who portrayed both of his characters with an ironic tone that served him well. Especially his parody of Orson Welles was hilarious to watch, maybe a statement of him and Zidi about the often pretentious nature of the so-called "greats of the cinema".
The topic of the film - comedic actors often deciding to change their image by playing in acclaimed directors' films - was actually very common in the French movie business during the 80's, with popular actors such as Gérard Depardieu, Sophie Marceau, and Christophe Lambert starting their careers with comedic roles, only to move to more serious films later on. Three of France's most popular actors, Philippe Noiret, Claude Brasseur and Pierre Richard also make cameos in the film during a scene showing the César ceremony, where Gaëtan beats them all, taking the prize for best actor.
The film is extremely commercial in character, overtly supporting simple comedies rather than auteur films, something that can be attributed to the fact that not even Zidi himself was ever appreciated by critics. For him, the audience mattered, and they responded.
The audience's respond to "Les rois du gag" was, as often for Zidi's films, positive, and he deserved it, up to some extent. Even if the film isn't as laugh-out-loud funny as the poster makes us believe, it is still a pleasant comedy, typical of its genre. It must be said, though, that Lhermitte and Jugnot have made better films than that. "Les rois du gag" cannot be considered Splendid by these standards.
