The theme of this lightweight comedy is the eternal chase by females after eligible males with the object of matrimony and the endeavors of the males to get away. Edouard Molinaro is considered as an apt director of comedies: after all, he got two Oscars nominations for "La cage aux folles" in 1980 -- "Oscar", "My uncle Benjamin" and "L'emmerdeur" are other highlights in his career. "Male Hunt" may be not as famous, but it is nevertheless a watchable movie in spite of a monotonous script (you get very quickly the idea that women are all manipulative little temptresses). But thanks to a brilliant cast, with the young Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Claude Brialy and Claude Rich and such beauties as the Dorléac sisters (Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac in their prime, i.e. simply beautiful), Mireille Darc, Marie Laforêt, Marie Dubois..., this flick couldn't be a complete failure. And there is Francis Blanche who is as usually a riot as a Greek(!) detective(!!). Bernard Blier is also hilarious as Catherine Deneuve's father. The other strength of the movie is its brilliant dialogs. Michel Audiard had apparently a lot of fun when he wrote sparkling lines that equal (almost) Sacha Guitry in his best plays. Then Molinaro wrapped the whole thing up in a flashy cinematic style (with scenes caught from oblique angles, images within frames, chases à la Mack Sennett...).
A young idle bachelor (Jean-Claude Brialy) aims to get married. His best friend (Claude Rich) thinks he is daft, and desperately, diligently persuades him to give up the reckless idea telling him horrible marriage stories. But on a break-away cruise of the Greek islands our chap meets a predatory young woman (Françoise Dorléac) whose intentions are much more deceptive and whose aim more sure than those of any of the girls he has met...
OK, this movie is not likely to stick in your head for 10 minutes after you've seen it, but you might give it a try.
