Mauvais esprit

"Brocéliande" (2002) had taken French fantastic movie to the mountains of the ridiculous, "Gunblast Vodka" (2000) had seriously tainted the (little glorious) reputation of the French thriller with its couldn't-care-less treatment attributed to this dangerous topic that is the snuff-movies. Here, "Mauvais Esprit" (2003) breaks a new record: it's the nadir of the French comedy we've seen for a long time. We have rarely been so lower in this register with this turkey which contains everything to be excluded in a French comedy.

How could Laurent Chouchan, the scriptwriter of "Tanguy" (2001) be the author of this "Mauvais Esprit". One could blame Etienne Chatiliez's movie for not being true to the social reality but at least, it contained painstaking comical sequences with caustic humor galore. Here, Patrick Alessandrin's flick reveals a Laurent Chouchan with a totally dried up inspiration. The starting point itself condemns the success of the movie. Indeed: a possessed human being (a child or a grown-up) by a devilish strength is light years away from the planet of originality. It's a threadbare topic which has been used countless times in several kinds of movie (the most notorious example is of course "the Exorcist" 1973). Using such an ominous subject on a comedy tone might have renewed this theme but unfortunately it's not the case and not making the viewer smile is quite an achievement from the authors!

"Mauvais Esprit" is plagued with scheduled sudden new developments, jerry-built moments and especially ludicrous or unbearable of vulgarity sequences with intolerable scatological humor. It is also drowned in a spate of clichés. The most notorious one is the fight between Ophélie Winter and Maria Pacôme which seems to occupy more place in the movie than the plot itself. The main comical assets of the movie which could have enabled it to take off have been shelved or worse: forgotten or skipped. The authors are completely incapable of writing one single gag of real invention. The present gags have an overrated reputation. At last, the voice of the actor Michel Muller rapidly proves itself to be boring because it is used in an awkward way. Muller gives the impression of not being there and not really caring about his role.

The cast is unfathomable. Thierry Lhermitte can be an estimable actor when he works with a director who has valuable expertise in comedy like Francis Veber. Please, do see the delicious "Dîner de Cons" (1998)! But here he's pitiful and has to team up with Ophélie Winter a so-called actress with more than limited gifts and whose countenance is as expressive as a Barbie doll. Maria Pacôme can't do anything with such a script and the rest of the cast is reduced to acting archetypal walk-ons.

The end takes the easy way and ends a cloying of vulgarity opus whose making was seemingly grueling. Much effort for nothing and once again so much money spent on a dud like this one goes beyond me.

The film proves that it is difficult to make a baby the real star of a film. The crew have made a remarkable effort (see the "making of" on the DVD) in preparing, casting and filming the little guys, but the film has lengths. The story is hold together by the off voice of the reborn "looser", which is sometimes very funny, but also equally annoying.

The cinematography and actors are first rate, the film might be appreciated by people who like the French cinema and love French humour.

The German title "der kleine Scheisser" seems more appropriate than either the French or English title, "Mauvais esprit / Bad spirit".

'C'est pas drole du tout' - it's just not funny Mr. script-writer and Mr. director. I cannot say too much more about this French comedy.

It's not that the idea could not make for a good film. The spirit of a failed architect born under an un-lucky star reincarnates in the body of the new-born baby of the rich entrepeneur who stole his project and killed him in a car accident. The baby will do all to make the life of his father miserable.

The film is re-told by the off-screen of the mature spirit in the baby body. It's not such a bad idea, and so are the camera shots taken from the perspective of the toddler. Unfortunately, these premises and the decent acting of Thierry Lhermitte are the only good things that can be said about the film. The rest of the cast is awful, the humor is either very expected and trivial or non-existing, and the movie succeeds to end before really beginning, but yet to make us feel bored for most of its 80 minutes.