The Toy

I saw this film in 1982. Our French teacher in High school took all her classes to see this one day during school. We were supposed to be immersed in the language while watching. Mostly, we got caught up in the story (and the subtitles) simple story that was simply told.

However, the US version screwed it all up by making making it a farce. Subtlty is lost here in the US. I really would like to see it again, since I only saw it the once 20 years ago

This is a great film! Richard Pryor thought he could use a remake as his personal vehicle in 'The Toy", but the American Hollywood version lacked the

insight and the comic spirit of the French original.

The film captures the arrogance and hateful attitude of the capitalist rich towards their employees to a T. I was laughing throughout the entire film!

If you get a chance, check it out. I give it 100 stars on a scale of 0 to 10. Give it to Hollywood to mess this one up, which they did. When will we Americans get fed up with this LA butchering of an art form always transformed into commercialized spoon-fed crap? See the original and weep for Poor Richard.

Amusing movie about a unemployed man, François Perrin, who finally gets a job as a reporter for an important newspaper. The business is owned by billionaire Pierre Rambal-Cochet. His young son always get what he wants. And he wants François Perrin as a toy! Perrin doesn't have a choice if he wants to keep his new job. So he becomes a simple toy.

Francis Veber scores again with this one. It's no masterpiece, but it's a steady comedy with good laughs all along. And the cast is good. Pierre Richard shines as usual. Jacques François too as Blénac. And Michel Bouquet is great as Rambal-Cochet. So funny when we learn how he buys his properties!

Out of 100, I give it 76. That's good for **½ out of ****.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on December 2nd, 2002. I saw this film back in the eighties and I remember loving it at the time.

(IMDB summary corrected for grammar and augmented.) When Francois, a journalist, tours a big store for an article, he is chosen by the son of the newspaper's owner, Rambal-Cochet, as his new toy. Needing money and unwilling to quit his job, Francois agrees to this ridiculous assignment. Gradually befriending the spoiled boy, he induces him to play at making a newspaper, unveiling publicly the tyrannical way of life of the father. The powerful emotional climax we experience with the child astonishes both men.

This funny, thoughtful film is much better than its American remake and deserves wider recognition.

This movie has unfortunately been unavailable in the US. It served as the basis for the later US film, The Toy (star, Richard Pryor) but retained an integrity and beauty that was lost in the US remake. Pierre Richard plays the part of a man who has been purchased as a plaything for a rich man's son -- and manages to turn the role around in such a way that the young boy learns in a subtle but unmistakable fashion that all human beings are deserving of dignity and respect. A top notch performance by Pierre Richard, surpassing any of his later films (Tall Blonde Man, Comperes, etc.). I urge you to try this one out!