French Fried Vacation (1978)
"Les bronzés" (original title)

Holidaymakers arriving in a Club Med camp on the Ivory Coast are determined to forget their everyday problems and emotional disappointments. Games, competitions, outings, bathing and sunburn accompany a continual succession of casual affairs.

Director:

Patrice Leconte

Writers:

L' Equipe du Splendid (scenario), L' Equipe du Splendid (adaptation),

Stars:

Josiane Balasko, Luis Rego, Marie-Anne Chazel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josiane Balasko	...	Nathalie Morin
Luis Rego	...	Bobo
Marie-Anne Chazel	...	Gigi
Michel Blanc	...	Jean-Claude Dusse
Martin Lamotte	...	Miguel
Bruno Moynot	...	Gilbert Sellman, homme au slip noir
Gérard Jugnot	...	Bernard Morin
Michel Creton	...	Bourseault
Thierry Lhermitte	...	Popeye
Dominique Lavanant	...	Christiane
Christian Clavier	...	Docteur Jerome Tarere
Guy Laporte	...	Marcus, chef du village
Pascale Deneu
Marion Lanez
Sylvie Obry

Storyline

Holidaymakers arriving in a Club Med camp on the Ivory Coast are determined to forget their everyday problems and emotional disappointments. Games, competitions, outings, bathing and sunburn accompany a continual succession of casual affairs.

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Plot Keywords:

club med | ivory coast | sunburn | club | stingray | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

22 November 1978 (France)

Also Known As:

French Fried Vacation

Filming Locations:

Assouinde, Côte D'Ivoire

Company Credits

Production Co:

Trinacra Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 105 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Les bronzés 3: amis pour la vie (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Chanson Village"
Fanfare Adélaïde

User Reviews

A shibboleth of a movie

There are two sides to this movie: superficially it is an unspectacular comedy about a group of tourists spending their two weeks at a Club Med resort somewhere in Africa, or the West Indies or wherever. There is the underlying promise of sexual adventures, but they only materialise for the bored, toned and bronzed club entertainers, not the balding and paunchy guests.

Like an iceberg, the more important part of this movie is invisible, and lies in the incredibly fast-paced dialogues. It's French quipping at its best, and if you only so much as bat an eye you'll miss it. For this reason the French love this movie, and the rest of the world wonders what they're on about (this type of humour doesn't translate well or even at all). I saw an original French version without subtitles, and have to admit that most of it was too fast for me.

For this reason: if you're French -- you probably have seen this movie, and possibly even on this very day. If you're not French, you won't understand a dicky bird. This review is so pointless.