Chobizenesse (1975) User Reviews

Everyone he fails (one day), everyone he's not perfect!

[guy-bellinger · 2/10 · 17 January 2021]

It hurts me to admit it but I hate this movie. I would not make a big deal of it if « Chobizeness » was not produced, directed, performed and set to music by none other than Jean Yanne, one of my favorite comedians. The man's talents are so varied as to make you dizzy: among others, he is the author and interpreter of irresistible parodic songs ("J'aime pas le rock", "Si tu t'en irais"), mean, irreverent, provocative or nonsensical sketches ("Le permis de conduire", "Les routiers"), innovative humorous radio shows, the best being "When I hear the word culture, I take out my transistor". I'm a fan of his cheeky tone, of his sharp lines, of his squeaky humor. Also an actor - and a first-rate one at that - he is an extraordinary "Boucher" (Claude Chabrol, 1969) and won a well-deserved acting award for "Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble" (Maurice Pialat, 1971). Three years before "Chobizeness", he brilliantly launched himself into film directing with the unbelievable "Tout le monde il est beau, tout le monde il est gentil" (Everybody he's handsome, everybody he's nice) in which he cheerfully brocades the world of radio polluted at the time by the Jesus-Mania. His next two films, while not quite up to what would remain his masterpiece, were funny and inventive enough. In "Moi y'en a vouloir des sous" (1973), Jean Yanne put the political world, trade unionism and all the petty tricks of our contemporaries to the test. The following year, his "I don't care" attitude erected as a philosophical system managed to put an end to the... invasion of Paris by the Chinese !... So when Yanne announced in 1975 a biting satire of the entertainment world, "Chobizeness" aroused a lot of expectation. Well, the awakening was rude! Appalling but true, not a moment is spent laughing. Instead you feel a constant uneasiness, which seizes you as soon as of the credits, their ugly garish colors and the foul song that accompanies it, the worst ever written and sung by Jean Yanne, with lyrics as inspired as "Il a chaud bibi, du zizi jusqu'aux fesses, car il est dans le show business" (Who can't stand the heat, It's Yours Truly, Hot from the birdie to the buttocks, For being in show business)! The opening sequence, the rehearsal of a shabby ballet with sets and costumes that test the eye, confirms this first impression: the tone will be one of assumed ugliness and aggressive vulgarity. It is known for a fact that for a satire to work, however caustic it may be, it must win our support in all areas. Showing the inner mediocrity of the characters through their external ugliness is not an option, it's tone on tone. The story of this producer who is prepared to do anything to save his theatre is worth another. It can even produce masterpieces ("The Producers" by Mel Brooks, to name but one), it is his treatment that will make all the difference. Here, in addition to the fact that Jean Yanne puts everyone in the same bag, from the porn show to the elitist intellectual theater to the music hall, is kind of exaperating. Aren't there really any talented and sincere people among the artists, aren't there any who can't express their sensibility even when working on behalf of ruthless moneylenders? One could retort that Yanne saves the character of Bloch, the upright musician whom he ends up poaching, alas! he makes such a puppet of him (whose ridiculous side is further reinforced by Robert Hirsch's over-acting) that the character indisposes us instead of touching us. No, this time « Everyone he is ugly, everyone he is mean », and that's the problem. In such a negative context, the gags, especially verbal and repetitive ones (Bloch's large family stoning him to death as soon as he gets home, a.s.o.) just fizzle out. The worst is the finale, when this cynical producer and this gifted but pretentious egocentric composer are shot down by the CRS (equivalent of the National Guard) on the orders not of the prefect of police but of the producers of the show themselves, which is a bit hard to swallow. With their arms outstretched on the stage, like two martyrs of modern times, they lie for the whole of the end credits under the applause of the CRS!!! The sequence is meant to be surreal, it is only preposterous. "Chobizeness" is certainly Jean Yanne's biggest failure. What do you want, everyone he fails (one day), everyone he's not perfect!