Los Locos Visitantes

My god, I saw this movie yesterday and I'm still laughing at some of the scenes as I recall them from my memory. This was a hilarious light-hearted movie, perfect (in my opinion) for any sense of humour. It is definitly worth seeing (I saw it on The Movie Network). Perfect for gatherings and general good times.

Four stars on the VitalBird scale. (****) (out of 5, not 10).

Many of the comments here are the usual gripes about remakes. Well, I've never seen "Les Visiteurs" so I'm just looking at this film on its own, and I must say that I was greatly entertained.

Of course, it's a lightweight plot, but Reno and Clavier sink their teeth into the time-travel jokes and manage to be endearing as well as thoroughly crazy. (Especially Clavier, whose scenes among the rich folks reminded me a lot of the Three Stooges' many dinners with the snobs.) Christina Applegate is sincere and appealing, her boyfriend and his bimbo are appalling, and the Chicago scenery is GREAT! (I have to admit my prejudice in that regard, having lived there for many years.) Considering that the remake was done by the men who made the original film, what's the problem? Think of what it would have been like if it starred Adam Sandler and David Spade, for instance. Zut alors!

All the warning signs were there. Jean Reno already made a perfectly good version of this film in 1993. Unfortunately, Americans do not like subtitles or films set outside their own country, so Just Visiting was conceived, chiefly with the aim of milking a few more dollars from the original idea.

Unfortunately, the humour is not as good, the acting of the US supporting cast is not as good, and the plot makes far less sense than the original. Why would he be transported to Chicago? What are the odds his descendant lives in Chicago? The original was much more plausible - it was set in the same geographical area, so meeting one's descendants is not so ridiculous, and it created plenty of humour based on Sir Godefroy's shock to learn that his castle was now owned by the descendant of his moronic lackey, whereas his descendant lived in a modest 3 bedroom house.

For goodness sake, save your ticket money and get the original French version "Les Visiteurs" on video. It is a far better film.

This movie doesn't get enough credit. I found it in a DVD bargain bin after never even hearing about it on cinema, which is a great pity. Jean Reno is in a different role for a change, and he excels - his comic timing is perfect, and together with Applegate and the dumb slave, you are left wishing you could see more of them. You also develop a real hate for Applegate's boyfriend. I laughed solidly the entire way through at the way the characters battled to fit in with modern living standards. Everything from the concept to the jokes, even the graphics, is done really well, and I would highly recommend this to fans of sci-fi comedies or even romantics. 8/10

Just Visiting is an American remake (starring the same two main characters) of the excellent French "Les Visiteurs" from 1993. The remake is of course not on par with the original, which is a perfect comedy. The U.S. version is much duller, and marred by several things, such as Jean Reno being too old to successfully reprise his role, and many jokes simply not being very funny.

It gains, however, on two important counts. First, Malcolm McDowell's wizard, who has a much larger and more interesting part in this movie than the original wizard did in the first movie. Second, Christina Applegate's character. She is surprisingly good, and a delight to watch. She's never been a terrible actress, but here she's extraordinary. She plays a kind of good-hearted, intelligent and yet naive character that, to my knowledge, is quite different from the other characters she's played. Where she's often been an air-head bimbo, here she's genuinely appealing; even endearing.

It still does detract from the movie that, to a great degree, it merely goes through the motions of the original movie, trying to mimic the jokes and japes, and very often failing miserably. Still and all, it's worth watching and is better than it might have been.

I rate this one 7 out of 10. You should see the original, though, which is far more inspired and also gives a great impression of spontaneity. I rate the original version 10 out of 10. It's that good.