A lot of Jean Gabin films are coming out on DVD these days. The actor certainly made some of the greatest french films of all time (La grande illusion, La bête humaine, Touchez pas au grisbi, Quai des brumes, etc.) but this film is one of his very worst. The most annoying thing here is how often the three main characters shout at each other. Not only are their dialogs not really that funny but all three actors have to say their lines with a thick countryman accent that makes them even uglier to listen to. Jean Gabin was a very faithful actor when it came to working with certain directors but obviously Gilles Grangier was no Jean Renoir and, as for most of Gabin and Grangier collaborations, you can surely skip this turkey!
Reviews
10 Reviews
Bingo!
(2005 TV Movie)
Perfect mid-afternoon t.v. flick
21 July 2007
Sometimes you just don't feel like watching a masterpiece. If you want some gentle entertainment full of exotic locations and simple human emotions,this is your candy. Let's be frank; it's a guilty pleasure of immense reward as "Le roman De Georgette" will surely be forgotten as quickly as you can read this review. The story involves a woman of modest dispositions who falls for a narcissistic pianist in the beautiful surroundings of Maurice Island. The casting is uneven, especially with the male actors, but the plot's silliness sort of makes up for the average acting. All in all, it's fairly cute and sometimes even moving but beware: this movie will be appreciated at his fullest if one leaves her/his working brains in the basement!
Granny Boom
(2005 TV Movie)
Neat little TV film for vegetarians
13 February 2007
This is by no way a masterpiece. Nor is it a smelling turkey. Granny Boom is actually a nice little film that depicts the life of a fifty something woman (Fanny Cottençon) going through some difficult times. She looses her job, finds out her husband is cheating on her and has to take care of her old mother and of her three grandchildren. Don't worry, though, she will survive! The best part of the film is the acting. Cottençon is very good in a role where a certain sensibility is needed. The film is treated as a comedy but there is enough questions raised to make this viewing a little more than a pop corn t.v. movie... but don't call for a pizza, especially a mighty meaty one!
Cross
(1987)
Singer Michel Sardou tries his bit at acting
8 August 2006
This much forgotten film of the late eighties deserves its pathetic faith. Nothing in this lazy thriller could ever surprise anyone. A complete turkey, however, it is not. "Cross" simply is average. And dated. Not a good mix. The plot itself can best be qualified as ordinary: in order to free his wife and daughter from the malicious care of five lunatics freshly escaped from the asylum, a policeman seeks help from a professional killer. The kidnapped members also include some other relatives of the distressed cop. None of them are meant to live very long on screen anyway. Michel Sardou, a popular french singer, plays the main character without excessive mannerism but his performance remains forgettable. The only interesting character in this movie is that of the hired killer. He is played with an effective tongue-in-cheek humor by comedian Roland Giraud. Otherwise... on a rainy Monday evening it might end up mildly entertaining.
Fanny Pelopaja
(1984)
Good actors in a lost cause
2 May 2004
What attracted me to this film were Bruno Cremer and Fanny Cottencon who are two good french actors. Unfortunately they are teamed in a lost cause here. The film being a co-production between Spain and France, we have to believe that those two french characters (a whore and a cop) evolve in Spain for some unknown reasons! Having seen the film in french, it is clear that during the shooting of the picture both lead actors spoke french while the rest of the cast spoke Spanish. Worst than that is the screenplay that doesn't care to be original at all. Not satisfied by the fact she made a cop lose his job and even got him in jail for a few years, a prostitute avenges the death of her former lover (and the brutality she physically suffered from this dirty cop) by arranging and robbing the money from a secure bank truck in which the now ex-cop works as a watchman. They meet again later, she "makes his day" and ends up in an asylum... Unless you like a little trivial sex scene here and there, this slow paced film with bad lighting will probably only be testing your patience. Avoid it!
La brute
(1987)
Classical pulp book turned into a routine court drama
12 October 2003
Guy Des Cars was a well known author whose books sold in millions. They often dealt with love triangles and murders. When first published La Brute was one of his biggest seller. This big screen adaptation is at best mediocre. Given the intriguing storyline (a blind-deaf-mute man is accused of murdering his wife's lover) the film certainly lacks dramatic tension. While the murder itself occurs on a boat, most of the film action takes place in a court room where "surprises" - not too well concealed - await us all... Jean Carmet, who was such a great second role actor, is waisting his talent as a leading actor. All in all, you can surely skip this one!
Filles perdues, cheveux gras
(2002)
Average girl movie with no twist!
27 May 2003
Advertised as being a trash version of Francois Ozon's much better 2002 film 8 Women, this comedy suffers mainly from lack of direction. Both films feature spontaneous musical outbursts from the actresses but unlike 8 Women, which basically is a whodunit, Filles perdues cheveux gras is only an average girl movie promoting friendship in troubled times. Those three twenty something women have a hard time falling in love, keeping a baby or staying sober, but together they will see the light... And light it sure is, but the comedy is kind of lost through a narrative which tends to spend too much time with one particular character (the young mother) thus bringing a certain boredom to the whole film. Only the set decoration and the visuals are sometime effective as they seem to modernize (or just copy) old Jacques Demy movies such as Les parapluies de Cherbourg or Les Demoiselles de Rochefort both much better movies.
Take It from the Top
(1978)
Woman's lib funny metaphor
1 October 2002
Behind its lighthearted humor and its (more than necessary) share of slapstick scenes, "Vas-y maman" is actually a relatively serious critique on patriarchal societies at a time where the woman's liberation movement was at its peak. The film (directed by a woman) shows how numerous women are alienated when they stay home, take care of the kids and the house... to eventually awake, one morning, totally depressed about their life choices. The film tells the story of such a woman; a mother who can't stand it anymore and goes back to work, start to serve tv dinners to her family and generally has a ball retrieving her youth by being her own boss once again... The comedy comes from the conflicts emerging between the members of this family as Annie Girardot's character defies them to put her back where she was before. Though it suffers from obvious shortcomings in the screenplay department, "Vas-y maman" is a mildly funny but interesting film about a very serious subject matter and, as a metaphor for the legitimacy of feminism, is certainly worth seeing.
La turbulence des fluides
(2002)
Uneven but interesting film
16 September 2002
This beautifully photographed film tells the story of a scientist woman trying to explain an unusual phenomenon taken place in the Saint-Lawrence river in a recluse region of northern Quebec. Her work will take her to a journey she was not expecting which primarily deals with her own private longings. Some may say that the film takes way too long to get to the point which, from that perspective, must be the love story. Others may argue the exact opposite; that the love story is secondary to the natural disaster plot it therefore dilutes. I tend to believe that both stories are moving along at the same rate which is fairly slow and might even be perceived as hesitant. The overall effect is one of a very well done piece of cinema with a powerful dramatic finale but also of an almost lazy script that should have went through a couple more rewrites. In short, an uneven film with still lots of charm.
A very unintentional funny movie
26 April 2002
This piece of "french canadiana" is probably the most well known film of its time in Quebec. Although it was a smash hit when it came out, with the passing of time La petite Aurore l'enfant martyre basically became a twisted cult favorite among a younger and more cynical generation of film buffs. The story is a very sad one, depecting the agony of a young girl who has to cope with a violent mother-in-law. This is typically a film "so bad it's great". If you like overblown melodrama, bad acting, awful organ music and over the top moralistic endings you will definitely enjoy this movie!
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