La vérité si je mens! 2

I didn't bother going to see this one at the cinéma as I had heard all sorts of comments about the low level finesse of the humour ... however I rented the Dvd recently and found the film quite entertaining. In fact my wife who is Algerian born French and who had seen the number one found the number two better than the number one, now that's unusual isn't it. The film is basically about the Jewish "pieds noirs" ( ex-inhabitants of the Algerian French and their descendants ) ; various comic situations arise when the family of clothiers try to sell models to a clothing discount store, called Euro Discount ( how original ) and who's boss is none other than Daniel Prévost, who played the tax inspector "Cheval" in Le Diner des Cons. Anyway there's a lot of fast-talking and pied-noir humour, as well as some romance, lots of lying ( hence the title ) and beautiful women. It really was a pleasant surprise, and I loved the performance by José Garcia who at one stage has to pass off for an irate ouzbeck buyer to a Tunisian clothers factory. Anyway there's a reasonable plot so the story and I would recommend the DVD. In addition to that, a rare thing on French Dvd's, there are English subtitles for non French-Speakers. A most laudable addition !

In this sequel to the huge hit "La vérité si je mens", we're back to the little Jewish community of the Sentier, a Parisian district specialised in textiles. While the first movie focussed on the sentimental and comedic adventures of Eddie (a goy trying to pass for a Jew though totally ignorant of Jewish traditions), the sequel is more about Eddie's friends, a colorful bunch of fast-talking, hot-tempered entrepreneurs who love nothing more than fast cars, fast women, glittering watches and flashy clothes. For the millions of people who saw the first episode, there's little new here : the same (or almost) characters return to their well-oiled roles and punchlines. Still, it's a better sequel than most. First, it has a story that is appropriate to our times: the little Davids of the Sentier are fighting a giant Goliath - a big supermarket chain, and their final vengeance is fun and inventive. Second, there's more room for detail and character definition. Particularly, José Garcia as Serge, the mythomaniac, pathetic loser of the team, is given a lot of screen time and makes a memorable impression (and, like Ben Stiller, he has a lot of hard time "Meeting the parents" !). Third, it's fast-paced and quite funny. In some way, it's hard to describe such a movie to non-French people as the community presented here cannot be found elsewhere. It is also close to impossible to translate, too, as most of the fun is in the "typical" slang (like the title itself). Here's a comparison that comes to mind : take the comedic moments of Italo-American gangster sagas (like Goodfellas or the Sopranos), keep the colorful language but replace handguns by yarmulkes !

If I lie that's the truth!?

I am not sure if that's the reality but I found it sincere. If you have seen the film you can understand what I mean. "La vérité si je mens" is a comedy film pointing that people sometimes need to play games even if they are not good at playing or "acting".

I Watched it with a friend. We both enjoyed it a lot. I must say that from the beginning we started to laugh. The introduction is similar to the Jame Bond's Movies but with a little twist that made it very funny. I recommend it if you like french comedy. This is a great representation of the friendship and the truth about our specie (I'm talking about men). A great movie with a great cast. If you want to spend a good time this is your movie.

In 1997, the movie "la vérité si je mens" was released and had a huge success, so it was almost inevitable that it was followed by a sequel and this happened 4 years later. But this sequel is a pleasant surprise because it's more successful and better than the first film. Besides, I'm amazed that it's only rated 6.6/10. As far as this sequel is concerned, it's full of good surprises: to start obviously with the actors who are all amazing and they've got punch ( the palm would surely go to José Garcia). The first movie mainly focused on Richard Anconina's life and feelings and tended to neglect the other actors but here these actors have got more calibre and more liberty (in some parts of the movie, they're even the main actors). So the movie is well-regulated. It's necessary to say that the minor actors are wisely chosen: the thrilled Enrico Macias, the sly Daniel Prévost.... Moreover, there aren't any injuries times so you don't get bored at all. Dialogues are rippling and hit the bull's eye, several gags are irresistible although a bit predictable and let's add a lively rhythm. At the end, it's a dynamic and vibrating movie. It's worth watching!