Todos contra Gregorio

It's a comedy and, well, it is funny !!! I mean, really funny ! It's one of the fastest French comedies I've seen this year. The story is not very important - the struggle of a shy french guy to get to his date, braving all sorts of "bad" people, catastrophies and accidents - but the treatment is. Great, great actors, a never-ending stream of gags, a very naive love story... I just loved it. Imagine an "After Hours", written by the Monty Python. Great !

If I had to give my opinion about this movie, I would say this: it is the meeting between "Amélie Poulain" (2001) and the Podalydès brothers' cinema. A shy and unassuming man would like to charm a woman, Odile. For this, he stole her wallet so as to arrange a date with her. She accepts. But what Grégoire doesn't know is that a series of unexpected events and disasters will turn his night into a nightmare. As we can see by reading this summary, the story rests on comparatively classical bases and Artus de Penguern (both the director and the main actor) told it with a zany and fanciful humor that gives birth to whacky comical situations. The meeting of two peaks of the French cinema (I must however admit that although I'm not very fond of "Amélie Poulain", I enjoy the Podalydès brothers' films) should give an entertaining success. But however, the movie doesn't work. All right, the comical sequences follow on from each other without injury times. All right, the presence of dreamlike sequences enables to lighten the movie (when Odile identifies with Mme Bovary). In another extent, through Grégoire's trouble, we can detect a caricature of French people who are (a little too) fond of football. A passion that can lead them to madness. The mayonnaise isn't thickening because there is too much ponderousness and not enough subtlety in Penguern's style. Because of this irritating fault that harms the film, it is difficult to laugh honestly and Odile should have crossed the street to reveal her love for Grégoire from the beginning. This latter wouldn't probably have known so much trouble...

This clumsy film was Penguern's first movie. Maybe, will he improve his style in next movies in the future.

I caught this film by accident during a bout of insomnia and thought it side-splittingly funny. Reminded ever so slightly of "After Hours", a Martin Scorsese black comedy where a young man goes out one night and endures a series of misadventures before turning up in a full body cast at his office next morning. This, however, is lighter, funnier and definitely more entertaining as Gregoire gets into some far fetched but equally dangerous situations when everyone around him seems to be on drugs, armed and dangerous. These include a taxi driver whose German Shepherd takes the wheel. A few of the incidents could happen and have happened to all of us, such as the attempt to get photo copies or a call for telephone information form a coin operated call box.

This movie deserves a 10. Although it is a comedy with a simple story, nearly every line in the script tries to generate a comic situation or mock about something. Even when a wit remark isn't at hand, you can laugh at certain situations, like a dog driving a car or a goalkeeper without an arm in a soccer match. Yes, the movie has a gallery of particular characters. Also, the director knows how to exploit certain camera angles to give you meaningful details.

The only people who should not watch this excellent movie are those who: don't like foreign movies, don't want to read subtitles, don't understand soccer, don't take life with a grain of salt. If you are none of them, just give it a try. I did, and I ended watching it twice.

First of all this is the first french movie that i've ever seen. Personally I didn't know what to expect from. I even didn't know what was the movie about. Gregoire a single adult male, goes against practically everything to get what he deserves, a happy life with a girlfriend like him. All in all this is a great comedy that show us the mean of reaching our goals -no matter how small may they seem to other people- and how could they cost to us. There are some movies that show us this meaning by heart touching stories. Gregoire isn't one of these. Instead, this message is sent to us through a surrealistic experiences in which everything occurs to poor Gregoire. The man in fact is not the only starr in the movie, only the main guy. Certainly the great performances by the whole cast, the good score and also the very well done definition of the characters gave this movie a very particular touch. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to have a good time and a good story.

Overall big laughs and 10/10.

P.S. I just bought the DVD.