The Brice Man (2005)

A wannabe surfer parties on the French Riviera while awaiting the perfect wave.

Director:

James Huth

Writers:

Karine Angeli, Jean Dujardin (original stage sketch)

Stars:

Jean Dujardin, Clovis Cornillac, Élodie Bouchez

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Dujardin	...	Brice Agostini, dit Brice de Nice
Clovis Cornillac	...	Marius Lacaille, dit Marius de Fréjus
Élodie Bouchez	...	Jeanne
Bruno Salomone	...	Igor d'Hossegor
Alexandra Lamy	...	Chantal la sirène / Alice de Nice
François Chattot	...	Monsieur, le père de Brice
Mathias Mlekuz	...	Eudes, l'avocat
Patrick Ligardes	...	Jean-Marie Guitera, le banquier
Isabelle Caubère	...	Josie
Delphine Chanéac	...	Marjorie
Antoine Duléry	...	Micky, la légende
Jérémie Quaegebeur	...	Victor d'Hossegor
Didier Menin	...	Le patron du restaurant
Xavier Boiffier	...	Mario, le serveur
Alexandra Fleischer	...	Catherine, l'infirmière

Storyline

Brice, a motherless super rich 30-year-old teenager fancies himself a trendy surfer. Only he never stepped out of Nice where the sea remains desperately calm and flat. Brice awaits a giant wave like the one he knows happened in 1979. In the meantime, what he lacks in technique he successfully hides and compensates in style. Yellow T-shirt, yellow hair, yellow parties, he created his own little world where he "axes" people. One morning, his father is sent to jail and "Brice from Nice" is left penniless. He first decides to find out about that thing called "work" (one of his friends does it) at a local restaurant, but then decides robbing a bank is way easier. While escaping after a failed attempt, he meets Marius who needs money for foot surgery. His new best buddy has an idea how to get it: all it takes is for Brice to win the $100,000 prize at the "world underground surf cup". It would "completely" help if Brice had surfed at least once in his life.

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Plot Keywords:

france | yellow | riviera | surf | local blockbuster | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

6 April 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

Brice: Um Surfista Muito Louco

Filming Locations:

Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Box Office

Budget:

EUR5,340,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$33,026,616

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandarin Films, M6 Films, Canal+

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Inspired by comical sketches from Jean Dujardin when he was a stand-up artist, before he became an actor.

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Quotes

Brice Agostini, dit Brice de Nice: [into the microphone] Birdie num num.

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Crazy Credits

Bettina la chef coiffeuse est un peu la mère de Brice [Roughly: Bettina the head hair stylist is sort of Brice's mother]

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Connections

References The Party (1968)

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Soundtracks

Rock the Cup
Written by Bruno Coulais, James Huth, & Sonia Shillito
Performed by Freddy Meyer

User Reviews

C'est Le Casse De Brice

In 1995, Jean Dujardin organized his first shows around a character he knew when he was in high school entitled Brice. The latter took himself for someone witty, clever and whose formidable verbal words helped him to maintain respect around him. Dujardin kept him in memory to create an eternal teenager and a dreamy rich kid, fond of surfing who's waiting for his hour glory.

"Brice De Nice" was one of the most profitable movies in 2005 from a commercial perspective. Artistically, well it's another story. The main problem with James Huth's effort or rather Dujardin's (the director contents himself with shooting without the single directing idea and it's the star who holds the reins) is that it has strongly the look of a stretched sketch to make a one hour and a half film. It means that a few jibes can be funny for a short time and it's a mistake to believe they that can be the only reliable supplier of laughter for a thin story. Hello weariness! To flesh out (so to speak) the whole, comes a two-bit subplot in the second half between Clovis Cornillac and Elodie Bouchez and superfluous filler (the sequence in the bank turned into a pseudo musical. By the way, the song "C'est Le Casse De Brice" was bound to be a big hit in France). Even with the adoption of a deliberately schoolboy tone, the whole doesn't take off on the crest of the waves but sinks at the bottom of the sea.

To appreciate "Brice De Nice" is like to appreciate the hilarious sitcom: "Un Gars, Une Fille": in small doses. Besides, Alexandra Lamy has a cameo in Huth's effort. As for Dujardin, he has real actor skills and proved it with his aforementioned shows and the quoted sitcom but also in cinema with "OSS 117: Le Caire Nid D'Espions" (2006), he nearly grabbed the César for French Best Actor this year with this role. But, here, it's not a film he would put on top of his CV. Anyway, teenagers or little demanding viewers will love this one.