"On Purge Bébé" ("Baby's Laxative") is a very strange film for Jean Renoir to make as his first sound movie. This master director had already made several pictures before this and had established a good reputation in the French film industry...and he chose to make a film about a constipated child and his REALLY annoying and clueless mother! A weird choice, to direct this movie version of a play by Georges Feydeau about some bourgeois knuckleheads!
When the story begins, a mother is obsessing over her son, 'Baby'. Well, Baby is 7 years-old! Certainly he's no baby and this 1930s helicopter mom is very upset that the boy hadn't had a bowel movement that morning. It's no big deal...but she soon turns the home into chaos with her ranting.
As for her poor husband, he is trying to convince her to stop worrying about the boy, get dressed and look her best as a government minister is coming any minute. It seems that the French army is looking to buy chamber pots and Mr. Follavoine wants to impress this visitor. But the wife is walking about the house in her bathrobe, with her hair a mess and she couldn't care less that she might destroy his business deal. And, when the important visitor arrives, the woman walks about the house dressed this way AND talking non-stop about bowel movements! She even tries to get the visitor involved in this 'crisis'!! It's all very crazy and very out of proportion and you wonder where it will all go next. See the film and find out for yourself. All I can say is that it DOES get crazier and more embarrassing to watch!
This film features some amazing actors of the day...Michel Simon and Fernandel...both known for their French language comedies. Them, combined with Jean Renoir as director, then the film can't help but be enjoyable...no matter than the film is all about crap! Overall, a good film but an incredibly strange one...one that is funny but in a very strange and droll way.
