Watching one of Pierre Étaix's directed films is sufficient to learn that he's deeply underappreciated; watching a second confirms that he's a comedic genius whose relative lack of renown is all but criminal. Even on a fundamental level 'Tant qu'on a la santé' is very different from 'Le grand amour' or 'Le soupirant,' however, seeing as how it's effectively an abbreviated comedy anthology with four discrete segments. I don't think it's unfair to say that such titles usually tend to be more of a mixed bag even in the best of instances than features with a singular narrative, so it's only reasonable to ponder what the result will be here. For my part I don't think the humor is necessarily perfectly robust and consistent across each short (at least not by comparison), but nevertheless when all is said and done this 1966 title is overall a great joy by far, and another fine testament to Étaix's brilliance.
Arguably even more than in his other works, the comedy here is built substantially on sight gags, with situational humor and pure absurdist silliness following in short order. In irregular doses there's even a measure of abject cartoonishness more closely resembling 'Merrie Melodies' or 'Looney Tunes' than the average cinematic folly; it's noteworthy, moreover, that segments might start with one premise than corkscrew into another direction. The one constant across each is that to Étaix's credit as writer, and frequent collaborator and co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière, each idea herein is founded on some notion that is real and relatable before it twists into roundly ridiculous shapes. Wherever each segment may go, however successful each might be, they're marked by fantastic cleverness - not to mention terrific acting from a cast common to all, and Étaix's dependably impeccable oversight as director.
The use of different color processes is a delightful touch that adds flavor, and it should be said that the editing and cinematography is swell generally. Any effects and stunts that are employed are splendid, and of course facets like production design, costume design, hair, and makeup are excellent. My personal favorites here are the second segment "La cinémathèque," and the fourth, "Nous n'irons plus aux bois"; these claim the strongest and steadiest humor, in my opinion - and be it coincidence or not, the humor that's closest to what Étaix achieved in the other pictures I noted above. This is hardly to count out "Insomnie," which opens the restored version, nor the titular segment, but the latter is a little more scattered, and the former a smidgen more blithely amusing than specifically funny. But then, maybe all this nitpicking is beside the point: while 'Tant qu'on a la santé,' or 'As long as you've got your health,' may be a tad uneven over its length, ultimately it's wonderfully entertaining. It earns hearty laughs at its best, and even at its weakest the worst one can say is that it's "only" lightly enjoyable. If this is to any degree a lesser creation of a comedic master, I think it's a matter of fractions and not whole numbers. Fun from start to finish and ending on what may be the highest note of all, 'Tant qu'on a la santé' is well worth the scant time it takes to watch, and then some. Bravo!
