rochesternypizzaguy

This was bad from the start and got worse. Dumb, unbelievable premise that somehow managed to become even dumber and less believable.

Some movies are so bad they're almost good, or at least entertaining in an unintentionally-funny kind of way. This isn't one of them. Find something better to do with your time. Almost anything short of sticking toothpicks under your fingernails should qualify.

I can't believe how many rave reviews there are of this special. For starters, it doesn't even begin to approach the level of the Christmas and Halloween shows, although that's admittedly a high bar. But aside from that, to me, this is simply an example of the decline of Peanuts that started in the early 1970s. Too much Snoopy, too much Woodstock (the creation of whom was one of Schulz's worst decisions, IMO), too much Peppermint Patty and Marcie. I'm sure Schulz was trying to come up with new ideas and story lines with those characters, but to me it was more a symptom of his growing creative exhaustion. And in this case, possibly his abdication of creative control over the TV specials, which were mostly cobbled together by other people. Even the music's not as good as in the 1960s shows. This is worth a one-time look as a period piece, but that's about it.

About halfway through the movie, I could see how it was going to end. But that didn't spoil it, thanks to the well-written situational comedy and good performances. It also occurred to me that as good as this was, it could not effectively be remade in the U.S. The stereotypical French obsession with food lies at the heart of this film, but it translated well. Make a batch of crepes, or get a couple of baguettes and a bottle of vin rouge, and enjoy.