Der geschenkte Freund

We see another great performance from two wonderful actors: Daniel Auteuil and Jamel Debbouze. These two actors have such a bit star on top of their heads. You can throw any role to these two and they will deliver. And I believe that the young Simon Faliu is on his way to real stardom as well. What a performance.

A remake of "Le Jouet" de Francis Weber, which I have not seen. But I am very happy to have watched this new version.

Not sure if this could happen in real life. It looks like a fairytale, but with money, anything is possible, right?

Sure every little piece of this story appears on other movies, either on their own or coupled with some others. But this really makes it shine.

After watching this movie, you can really only say that wealthy people are truly indulgent. They have insatiable desires, and as long as they have money, they have supervisors and teams to take care of everything for them. In fact, this movie provides a glimpse into how the real world operates. First, wealthy people always have a team to rely on. Think about it, without a team, who would execute their desires? Second, wealthy people often can't effectively spend time with their children to nurture shared experiences, and this is a central theme of the film. Paradoxically, the spoiled child forms an emotional connection with the male lead, even sparking jealousy in the wealthy parent. But this really brings me to my conclusion: you can change others by becoming the person they need. Third, if employees can't satisfy the boss, they are dismissed, no matter how good they were in the past. It's quite frightening, isn't it?

I do not favor having to read subtitles I find it takes something out in the natural flow of the movie. In this case I made an exception since the story line and the actors in it seem interesting. I was not disappointed. First up the story line I know has been done before but not quite like this. The cinematography, production values where top notch and stylish .

Unlike other reviewers who found the young actor playing the part of Alexandre (Simon Faliu) as not being interesting enough. I found that a rather odd comment for as far as I am concern he is its true star with his undeniable screen presence. All in all a good family friendly afternoon flick.

An 11 year old boy (whose mother recently past away) doesnt desire to play with anything anymore UNTIL that day he meets a funny employee of his rich father's business. Now he DEMANDS this employee to become his fulltime TOY. How will this turn out?

The good; the dialogues are natural, the timing of the jokes is good, the acting by the 2 leading grownup actors is solid.

The bad: this comedy lasts way too long. The middle part is stretching my patience. Perhaps kids wouldnt mind that it lasts too long, but on the other hand perhaps kids would mind even more than grownups that this comedy is long in the tooth, almost clocking 2 hours! Half an hour could have been easily cut out of it.

More bad: the kid actor is lacking in charisma. That's a bit of a bummer, because the kid actor is one of the 2 most important characters.

Even more bad: this is not a laugh out loud comedy. Merely an amusing, gentle story, with a few good jokes in between. Not bad, not great either...

The immature and penniless adult Sami (Jamel Debbouze) is a charming and lucky street salesman who is forced by his very pregnant wife to look for a serious job. Samy lives happily outside the system, in the housing projects, alongside his childhood friends and his wife, who is expecting their first child. To provide for the needs of his future family - very reluctantly - he takes a job. Thus, Sami becomes an employee, a night watchman at a department store, until, the richest man in France (Daniel Auteuil), opening his toy store to his spoiled child Alexandre, telling him to choose his new toy. On the first night, the spoiled child Alexandre (Simon Feliu) decides to choose him as a peculiar gift for his birthday. The kid surprised by the humorous and clumsy skills of the employee chooses Sami, and nothing can change his mind. Alexandre - his only son, and heir to the entire Etienne fortune - keeps his father at arms' length, seeking refuge in the lonely world of the spoiled child. When Daniel Autiel Told His Son He Could Have Any Present He Wanted, He Picked The Most Outrageous Gift Of... Jamel Debbouze!. An Unexpected Human Comedy !.

An immature adult about to become a father, a selfish and spoiled poor rich child, and a distant father who believes that everything is fixed with money are the protagonists of this tender and funny fable about friendship, fatherhood, and true personal wealth, but also that it criticizes the dehumanized capitalist society. Starring Jamel Debbouze (Glory Days) as the unfortunate man finds himself the new toy of the spoled son of a multimillionaire widower; Daniel Auteil (Jean de Florette) gives the beast acting as Philippe Etienne, the wealthiest man in France, he's cold, unfeeling, since his wife died a year ago, he has devoted himself entirely to his business. And the little boy Simon Faliu provides the worst acting, because he does not distribute sympathy, nor enough spark, nor the necessary chemistry with the protagonist Jamel Debbouze.

This family comedy is a remake of the French classic ¨Le Jouet¨ by Francis Veber (1976) with Pierre Richard, Michel Bouquet, Fabrice Greco and in 1982 had an American version ¨The Toy¨(1982) directed by Richard Donner with Richard Pryor, Jackie Gleason, Ned Beatty.

The motion picture was professionally directed by James Huth , though without originality, because it copies elements from previous versions. Huth is a good writer , producer , and director who has made some decent films, such as: Brice 3 , Hellphone , Serial cover , Brice de Nice, Happiness never comes alone and Lucky Lucke. Rating: 6/10. The story is particularly recommended for children and adolescents and fans of sweet and family films.