Presidentes

I went into this movie thinking it would be a light comedy to watch and forget. It is a light comedy, but it's unforgettable.

Never mind the bizarre symmetry between this theoretical situation a few years back (Macron being wiped out and the fascist party about to access power) and the very real situation we have now in France; that's just a bonus.

What blew me away was the presence of 2 strokes of genius in this otherwise low-profile movie.

The first stroke of genius, and the main one, is Dujardin's incredibly good depiction of Sarkozy. I have always thought that he would be the perfect actor to cast for a biopic (or rather a parody) of Macron if there ever is one. They match in looks, voice, and "default" tone of voice. I often watch Macron speak and think he's a cleaned-up version of OSS 117. So when I saw he'd play Sarkozy, I thought: what a wasted opportunity if that means he never gets to play Macron! They have nothing in common physically and it was hard to project Dujardin into the character, it didn't seem like a good fit. Yet... I was wrong. Dujardin learned to imitate Sarkozy to perfection. All the little tics in his face and shoulders, the way his eyes and eyebrows work... This will go fully unnoticed to people who've never seen much of Sarkozy (international audiences, most likely), but for people who've suffered his presence for several years, it comes to life in an astounding manner. Dujardin almost disappears behind the Sarkozy character. It is HIM! For sure, Dujardin will have made more important, more critically acclaimed movies, but I believe this is his best actor's work so far, just for this reason. And that in itself is justification enough to recommend watching the movie to any French person. I kept laughing out loud thoughout the movie, just because of Dujardin's face and tone of voice.

The second, more discrete stroke of genius is the way the director (or writer? Or both) plays with us in subtle ways. This is indeed a simple, lightweight comedy, but now and then a few unexpected things happen which step out from the format for a second, and cause (at least in me) a sudden laugh. I'm not sure how this will transcribe to non-French audiences as this may be a rather French form of humor. But if you pay attention and notice those moments, it's really rewarding. Without adding spoilers, the way a bodyguard plays scrabble, and the later reuse of one complicated word in the movie in an unrelated situation, are little winks at the viewer which work really well. Similarly, the one single moment where the 2 presidents suddenly address the camera directly one after the other, each oblivious to the other one standing next to them, is something you'd expect more from a Bertrand Blier movie than a light comedy. Yet it works, it's fresh and surprising, not overdone, and then we move on and it does not reoccur. I really like this original take on the format of a comedy.

In conclusion, many people may miss those 2 aspects entirely and see only a watery, possibly dull comedy. Yet there is true genius at work here, and for those able to see it for what it is, it is a deliriously funny movie that will mark one's memory.