OSS 117 prend des vacances

Not really a spy adventure, like the others, but a clumsy, weird, incoherent would-be spoof of the genre. There is not much story, hardly any action (just a few fights in the dark plus some explosions at the end) and certainly no laughs, but a trio of beautiful women (including a Raquel Welch look-alike) earn it half a star out of four.

The seventh and last OSS 117 film released in the movie theaters till the Naughties.

After Ivan Desny,Kerwin Matthews,John Gavin and Frederic Stafford,it's Luc Merenda turn;as he is not very known ,his name appears at the end of the cast and credits ;his -short-lived- moment of glory occurred with the Chateauvallon miniseries ,in the eighties .

"OSS 117 Prend Des Vacances " hits rock bottom: third-rate acting,incoherent screenplay, with a director leaving his "stars" to their own devices, unable to take advantage of the Brazilian landscapes.

We make acquaintance with countess De La Bath (I've almost passed over Edwige Feuillère 's(short) presence ,if only out of respect for the great thespian ),the spy's cousin and the whole family in the desirable castle where Hubert Bonnisseur De La Bath intends to spend hard- earned holidays ;unfortunately,fate has decreed otherwise ,and he is soon on an assignment: stopping a bunch of far-right terrorists who wants to destroy Cuba with a little help of insects(you read well),among others.

The treatment is weird beyond comment: the OSS 117 girls appear and disappear without bringing anything but their physique to the plot:ex-Kirk Douglas'protegee ,Elsa Martinelli ,Genevieve Grad,known as Louis De Funès' daughter in the Gendarme saga ;the villains are ludicrous and as for their henchmen -although we are warned ,in the middle of the movie by lines that explain us,in case we should be too dumb to get it,that killers are watching the lovers - OSS 117 makes short work of them.Editing is amateurish and absurd;some go as far as to write there is a Godard's influence ,à la "Pierrot Le Fou" ,in the use of inserts .

Some wrote it was a spoof :the problem is that it is not funny at all;the parody would be fully realized in the successful "OSS" of the 21st century,both of them starring the talented Jean Dujardin;turn your back on this drivel and do watch them again!

This film begins with OSS Agent 117 "Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath" (Luc Merenda) deciding to take a much need vacation at his aunt's house in the country. Upon his arrival he is subdued by several men and replaced by someone who looks identical to him. Fortunately, he manages to somehow escape from his captors and kills his duplicate without anybody becoming suspicious. So after contacting his headquarters he is sent to Brazil to ascertain why someone wants him eliminated. What he doesn't know is just how important his death is to these people and just how determined they are to finish what they started. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this is easily the worst addition to the series as it consisted of awful direction, a weak script and sloppy camera work. Worst of all, the extremely bad editing gave the entire film a fragmented look which made the plot seem almost incomprehensible at times. Along with that, Luc Merenda turned out to be a poor choice for the lead role as well. Admittedly, there were a couple of attractive actresses included in this movie with Rossana Ghessa ("Anna") and Elsa Martinelli (as "Elsa") standing out the most. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to overcome the obvious flaws in this film and I have rated it accordingly. Below average.