A Pain in the Ass (2008)
"L'emmerdeur" (original title)

An unlikely friendship develops between a hitman and a suicidal guy who have both checked into the same hotel for different reasons.

Director:

Francis Veber

Writer:

Francis Veber

Stars:

Richard Berry, Patrick Timsit, Pascal Elbé

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Berry	...	Jean Milan / Ralf Milan
Patrick Timsit	...	François Pignon
Pascal Elbé	...	Edgar Wolf
Virginie Ledoyen	...	Louise
Laurent Paolini	...	Le garçon d'étage
Michel Aumont	...	Randoni
Cédric Chevalme	...	Le gendarme #1
Laurie Lefret	...	La jeune fille
José Paul	...	Le photographe #1
Stéphane Bierry	...	Le photographe #2
Mathieu Busson	...	Le caissier de la station-service
Jérémie Covillault	...	Le policier #1
Samuel Dupuy	...	Le policier #2
Philippe Beglia	...	Le réceptionniste de l'hôtel
Sandra Moreno	...	La secrétaire de Wolf

Storyline

An aging mobster is being transported from prison to the courthouse in Nice where he may name names. Milan, a hit man, checks into a hotel with a view of the courthouse; he sets up with a high-powered rifle to wait. François, a self-pitying photographer whose wife has left him, checks into the room next to Milan, intent on suicide. His bumbling, his constant chatter, and his calls to his ex and her husband threaten to keep Milan from success.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | photographer | hitman | rifle | thief | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Official Sites:

TFM Distribution [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

10 December 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

A Pain in the Ass

Filming Locations:

France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pulsar Productions, TF1 International, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 95 min (European Film Market)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Remake of L'emmerdeur (1973)

User Reviews

Why is this film rated so poorly? It's a decent little comedy.

"A Pain in the Ass" ("L'emmerdeur") was originally a play from Francis Veber--one of France's best writer/directors. The story was made into a film in 1973, remade as "Buddy, Buddy" in the States a few years later and now is remade here in 2008. In between, Veber also was responsible for "The Dinner Game" (recently remade as "Dinner for Schmucks"). These are a lot of films with essentially the same idea. In every case, a bad person ends up having their lives destroyed by an idiot--a well meaning idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.

The film begins with the police taking a witness across the country testify. However, there's a price on his head and the police are taking a caravan with several cars, an armored truck and lots of well-armed men. What they don't know is that an assassin is waiting across from the court in a hotel--waiting to pick off the witness. The problem is that a total idiot living next door starts a series of events that roll out of control when he attempts suicide. In addition, a guy who's stolen the idiot's wife gets pulled into it--and he, too, has his life ruined by the idiot and a lot of weird coincidences. It's all very dark--but also quite funny--even if it has been filmed many times already. While not among Veber's best work, it is still quite good--and I have no idea why it currently only have an IMDb score of 4.9--as this would seem to indicate it's a bad film.