In the 80's, Jean-Paul Belmondo was the main French action hero. Most of his films were big-budget adventures, with him fighting everyone, from the Germans in "L'as des as" (1982), to mafia criminals in "Le marginal" (1983). While these films have their charm (especially "L'as des as" is both hilarious and sweet), it is in comedy that he really shone. In 1984, wanting a change from his frequent action films, he collaborated with director Georges Lautner in "Joyeuses Pâques", an amazing comedy of manners.
Belmondo plays Stéphane Margelle, a wealthy industrialist who lives the perfect life; he has a loving wife, Sophie (Marie Laforêt) and a well-paid job. He has only one flaw; he is a womaniser. Every time he leaves for a business trip, he seduces a charming woman. And so, when his wife leaves for vacation without him, he seizes the opportunity to invite a young woman named Julie, (Sophie Marceau) who has been dumped from her boyfriend on Easter day, in his house. Of course, luck is not on his side, and Sophie comes back uninvited. Now, Stéphane has to find an excuse to justify Julie's presence. So, he says that she is his dear daughter, who, by the way, is pregnant. So starts Stéphane's web of lies, that grows even bigger, until a surprise visitor in a party turns everything upside down.
While the premise is already promising, the performances are the ones that differentiate the film from all other such comedies. Belmondo interprets Margelle with such intensity and theatricality that he becomes a pleasure to watch, only for his exaggerated reactions to everything his wife says. Laforêt, on the other hand, is pretty relatable in her way of trying to keep some logic in this mad situation, and her interactions with both her husband and her alleged step-daughter have a delightful mixture of sweetness and irony. As for Sophie Marceau, she serves as an excellent combination of the two others' characters, being both relatively reserved - or rather embarrassed with the situation she has been trapped in - and sentimental, especially in her confrontations with her "father". This was one of the films she made after being released from her contract with Gaumont, willing to cement her image as a serious actress. While she never really succeeded in that extent, her performance here was charming and showed a different aspect of her acting abilities, a far cry from the innocent teenager she had played just two years before.
The supporting cast is also excellent. Long-time Belmondo collaborator Michel Beaune is an oxymoron by himself as the communist businessman, who hates Margelle for his capitalistic nature but is the head of the company in which the latter works, and Rosy Varte as the surprise visitor provides possibly the most laughs in the film with her almost preposterous behaviour.
Lautner, who had previously collaborated with Belmondo in "Le professionnel" (1981) directed "Joyeuses Pâques" at just the right pace for it to be watchable without becoming tedious. For all the verbal comedy, a car chase at the end of the film shows that both for Lautner and Belmondo, some action, even light-hearted, was inescapable.
For many viewers, it was this movie that was inescapable. Millions flocked to see it when it came out, showing that a collaboration of the old and the new generation of French actors was not only desirable, but also successful when taking place. So, shy not sit and enjoy "Joyeuses Pâques", or better, watch it with a friend? It is surely a great way to wish "Happy Easter".
Belmondo plays Stéphane Margelle, a wealthy industrialist who lives the perfect life; he has a loving wife, Sophie (Marie Laforêt) and a well-paid job. He has only one flaw; he is a womaniser. Every time he leaves for a business trip, he seduces a charming woman. And so, when his wife leaves for vacation without him, he seizes the opportunity to invite a young woman named Julie, (Sophie Marceau) who has been dumped from her boyfriend on Easter day, in his house. Of course, luck is not on his side, and Sophie comes back uninvited. Now, Stéphane has to find an excuse to justify Julie's presence. So, he says that she is his dear daughter, who, by the way, is pregnant. So starts Stéphane's web of lies, that grows even bigger, until a surprise visitor in a party turns everything upside down.
While the premise is already promising, the performances are the ones that differentiate the film from all other such comedies. Belmondo interprets Margelle with such intensity and theatricality that he becomes a pleasure to watch, only for his exaggerated reactions to everything his wife says. Laforêt, on the other hand, is pretty relatable in her way of trying to keep some logic in this mad situation, and her interactions with both her husband and her alleged step-daughter have a delightful mixture of sweetness and irony. As for Sophie Marceau, she serves as an excellent combination of the two others' characters, being both relatively reserved - or rather embarrassed with the situation she has been trapped in - and sentimental, especially in her confrontations with her "father". This was one of the films she made after being released from her contract with Gaumont, willing to cement her image as a serious actress. While she never really succeeded in that extent, her performance here was charming and showed a different aspect of her acting abilities, a far cry from the innocent teenager she had played just two years before.
The supporting cast is also excellent. Long-time Belmondo collaborator Michel Beaune is an oxymoron by himself as the communist businessman, who hates Margelle for his capitalistic nature but is the head of the company in which the latter works, and Rosy Varte as the surprise visitor provides possibly the most laughs in the film with her almost preposterous behaviour.
Lautner, who had previously collaborated with Belmondo in "Le professionnel" (1981) directed "Joyeuses Pâques" at just the right pace for it to be watchable without becoming tedious. For all the verbal comedy, a car chase at the end of the film shows that both for Lautner and Belmondo, some action, even light-hearted, was inescapable.
For many viewers, it was this movie that was inescapable. Millions flocked to see it when it came out, showing that a collaboration of the old and the new generation of French actors was not only desirable, but also successful when taking place. So, shy not sit and enjoy "Joyeuses Pâques", or better, watch it with a friend? It is surely a great way to wish "Happy Easter".