Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu?

Seldom have I seen a French movie that I didn't enjoy. "Qu' est-ce qu' on a fait au Bon Dieu?" was no exception to this rule of thumb.

I am not sure what most people expect to see when they go to watch a movie about such an absurd combination of facts. I, for one, went with an open mind, expecting extreme situations. However, once you get past the (obvious) exaggeration of the main story (a handful of races, another handful of religions - just ONE family), the various plot turns and outcomes are both believable and plausible.

There are a few cheap laughs, a couple of clichés, but other than that, the movie is very enjoyable and offers more genuine laughs. It doesn't try too hard with messages (I love that), the idea is just plain straight: we all hide a (however small or big) racist within, which, given the right circumstances can either grow or shrink. No man is bias- free.

It's a good movie, a well spent one-and-a-half hour.

I found this comedy really funny, I suggest to watch it in French.

Admitted, this movie will never be a classic but it is quite fun. Actually I do not like french humor, I hardly had a smile with "intouchables", "chez_les_chites" and other famous french comedies. But this movies manages to make good fun out of prejudgments and shows that in a way we are all racists, black, yellow, white, Muslim, catholic, Jewish. Now the story is thin and of course has a happy ending, but you will be amused afterward. Basically it tells the story of a family in which the 4 daughters marry an Arab, a Jew, a Chinese, while youngest plans to merry a black guy. This last marriage is too much for the parents who had hoped for a "descent, white, catholic" guy.

First off, I found this film to have a rather lighthearted and feel- good nature to it, while at the same time, dwelling upon the issue of interracial marriage, which is something not usually done by mainstream films and possible considered taboo in some circles. Compared to other French films I have seen, this one had a somewhat "American" feel to it, similar to many of the romantic comedies churned out by Hollywood in the last decade or so. With that being said, it didn't feel as uniquely "French" as I was expecting, as a film like this could possible be made in any western country that has a fair share of diversity. Of course, that just makes it all the more relatable to non-French audiences.

I found many of the characters interesting as they all came from differing backgrounds, and it was intriguing to see how they would clash and interact with one another. I do feel as if the film focused quite a bit more on the relationship between the daughter who was to marry a black man, as opposed to the other three daughters married to other men from other minorities. I wish the ratio of time focused on each of the daughters was a bit more balanced and that the marriages of the other three daughters could have been fleshed out more, such as by detailing how they fell in love and how the fact that the were not of the same race made an impact, positive or negative, on their relationship. Instead, the film consisted of scenes of the husbands making rather crude, stereotypical remarks at one another without going into much depth of the actual cultural differences. In other words, the film may could have gone a bit further with its premise, which was indeed promising.

either way, it seemed like the film did a decent job of navigating through a subject that many may find to be touchy and even controversial. It injected just the right amount of humor without being too offensive, and it was able to make its point.

In recent years, French cinema has suffered similar fate as Hollywood; whatever was made was too tepid or dumb to be interesting, with an occasional exception... but I digress.

"Serial Bad Weddings" or in literal translation: "What Have We Done To Dear God?" is a comedy about a family with three daughters each marrying a person of different race and religion than their own. If this were Canada or US, it would probably not even be worthy of a film. We all would like to believe that most of us are above racism in N. America, but keen observer will notice that racism has not disappeared, it is only better hidden. This creates a bit of a friction in many circles, and having a film like this goes a long way towards letting some of that pressure out. I am glad that French can still laugh at themselves, because most Brits and Americans will most likely be too scared into political correctness to enjoy the humor in this film.

To have a film expose and attack such deeply engrained attitudes head-on, is quite something. To have it done with "no holds barred" attitude, to the point of making one cringe and laugh at the same time, is what I enjoyed about this film the most.

The cast was absolutely wonderful, and besides Christian Clavier, it includes Pascal N'Zonzi who some cinefiles may remember from "Night On Earth" (the black VIP from an embassy... with "y-vois-rien" joke). Pascal N'Zonzi and Christan Clavier play off of each other so well, it is worth watching this film just for the two of them.

While the film occasionally flat-lines, the jokes are plentiful and well executed. There is only one sequence (maybe two?) that I am not crazy about... but even with that, it is very well worth watching just for the daring humor and attacking the issue of racism head-on in a truly funny manner. No one is spared - no race, and no racist, and everyone is better for it! All in all a good comedy that will not disappoint you, provided political correctness has not robbed you of your sense of humor.