This is Patrice Leconte's very premier film as a filmmaker and I hate to say this for a director I admire: it's a total failure at all levels. It's evident here that Leconte was trying to handle the rules of long feature movie and probably felt uncomfortable with it.
On a simple, oddball detective story, the filmmaker seemed to have designed his work as a comic strip with incongruous elements to give it an absurd feeling but the result doesn't work. On the paper, it would have been funny to read this kind of story but Patrice Leconte didn't manage to find a cinematographic equivalent to make this comic strip alive on the screen. As for the visual offbeat effects, they fall flat and barely make an indifferent viewer smile.
Don't be fooled by the presence of Jean Rochefort, one of Patrice Leconte's favorite actors, he seems to be bored and doesn't care about his role. It's necessary to say that at the time him and Leconte were not in good terms. So, imagine the vibe there was during the shooting. But Leconte will have his revenge with the sublime "Tandem" (1987). And what about Coluche? You'd better see him in his one-man shows.
Definitely not the Leconte to start with. Only for his hardcore fans.
On a simple, oddball detective story, the filmmaker seemed to have designed his work as a comic strip with incongruous elements to give it an absurd feeling but the result doesn't work. On the paper, it would have been funny to read this kind of story but Patrice Leconte didn't manage to find a cinematographic equivalent to make this comic strip alive on the screen. As for the visual offbeat effects, they fall flat and barely make an indifferent viewer smile.
Don't be fooled by the presence of Jean Rochefort, one of Patrice Leconte's favorite actors, he seems to be bored and doesn't care about his role. It's necessary to say that at the time him and Leconte were not in good terms. So, imagine the vibe there was during the shooting. But Leconte will have his revenge with the sublime "Tandem" (1987). And what about Coluche? You'd better see him in his one-man shows.
Definitely not the Leconte to start with. Only for his hardcore fans.