Les bronzés 3: amis pour la vie

My close relatives and friends know that Patrice Leconte has a prominent place in my straitjacket of favorite French filmmakers. I must profess that treasures like "Tandem" (1987), "le Mari De la Coiffeuse" (1990) or "l'Homme Du Train" (2002) were pure cinematographic delights in my eyes. But in counterpart, I don't go much for the "Bronzés" saga which is supposed to be a satirical mirror of the average Frenchman. I have always deemed it as vulgar, crass and it's really a shame that in France, for many French viewers, the name of Patrice Leconte remains associated with this cult series (for those who love it). There's so much to discover beyond it like the three gems aforementioned.

The first two chapters were shot in 1978 and in 1979. After that, a big proportion of viewers expected another installment. And so, Patrice Leconte and his gang of well-known French actors agreed to make a third episode. Of course, the whole crew was elated at the idea to work all together again like the good old days and I can understand(while not sharing it) the enthusiasm of many fans. "Les Bronzés 3: Amis pour la vie" was perhaps the most anticipated film of 2006.

I haven't got fond memories of the first two episodes and I won't warm to the series with this third one. My estimation about it is a juxtaposition of sketches hardly dovetailed without a true unifying thread. In the middle of the film, comes a two-bit subplot whose main function is filler. Some old clichés have been seen so many time before like Bernard Morin's son who announces to his father that he's gay and of course, his father isn't prepared to accept this. Most comical effects often fall flat and are rarely efficient.

Even Patrice Leconte's input in the project is absent and he doesn't seem to care about it. The actors give us their little acts but that's all. All in all, many fans of the first two films will be delighted to see these reunions and won't be hampered by the fact that the film isn't a model of cinematographic writing and this film by Patrice Leconte and his men is for them. But if some of them are curious to see what there is beyond this new trilogy (unless a fourth episode is on the way) in Leconte's filmography, I strongly advise them to watch the works I quoted in my first paragraph.

I'm surprised by the low ratings Les Bronzés 3: Amis Pour La Vie (French Fried Vacation: Friends Forever for the English title, yes I still think it's a stupid translation) gets. I agree it's the lesser good of the three in this trilogy but it's still worth watching, certainly if you were a fan of Les Bronzés and Les Bronzés Font du Ski, the classics from 45 years ago. The second movie was definitely the best but this lesser popular one is made so much later, it was great to see the crew of Le Splendid again. Friends forever is a good title for it as this team of top class actors made so many good movies together. I know it will never get the same status as the first two movies got, they are absolute classics of the French comedy, but it deserves a higher rating.

The idea of reuniting these infamous fellows was not necessarily a good one. Sure, they made us laugh a good deal 25 years ago with their precise and exquisite sense of humor. Sure, their portrayal of the bigger segment of French society was dead-on. Of course, their bad manners and mean-spirited friendships contributed to propel them to stardom. But the very reasons why we enjoyed watching their mediocrity was that they weren't stars. They were a quasi-unknown bunch on the margin of French culture. They were successful because they distanced themselves from both bourgeois mentality and the counter-culture allowing for their insolent brains to come up with such familiar characters. That was last century. And between the late seventies and 2006, they've grown to be the very establishment of mainstream French comedy, something that hardly makes for good, right-on insolence.

So the movie feels at times nostalgic but always superficial. As if the actors had become the characters and in the process had lost the necessary distance to make us laugh.

I have no idea why people bash this movie so harshly. It is of course different from the first two films because it's set 27 years later and naturally things have changed.

I think it's necessary to clear the air a bit on the problems people have with this movie: First off, people complained that at the time of the first two movies, all the actors were unknowns, now that they are all famous, people don't like it anymore. I think it was a good idea to bring all the original actors together and of course it's great to see the same characters again.

The second complaint was that this film isn't funny. I, for one, did not find the original Bronzés film to be funny at all. There was no story line, no interesting sub plots and uninteresting and despicable characters. The sexist and racist portrayals (at the time) looked like something taken out of The Deer Hunter and played out for a comedy.

The second one, however, is totally different. The group go skiing, and like in the first one, it involves tourist activities led by Popeye. In this film, everything is vastly improved and the main characters are more developed. Jérome settles for Gigi, while the rest stay in the same situations. During the second half, they get lost in the snowy wilderness. In the scene where they drink the infamous "liqueur d'échalottes", I almost cracked a rib from laughing so hard.

Les Bronzés 3 is a combination of the two: The same setting as the first and the quality humor of the second. Another good thing is that the cinematography is beautiful and the subplot involving the "beast" is brilliant.

It's a sequel, not as good as the previous one, but good all the same. Don't be put off by all the bad reviews people have given it, because it really isn't that bad.

This comment does not contain spoilers.

So, 3rd installment of the holidays of the "Bronzés" (the "sun tanned" in French). Boy, am I glad I did not buy the DVD. And do I feel sorry for the friend who did.

Anyway, 27 years after the previous 2 movies (Les Bronzés, 1978, tt0077276 on IMDb and Les Bronzés font du ski, 1979, tt0078907 on IMDb, both excellent comedies), the characters all get back together again. They are the same, played by the same actors. The comedy, unfortunately, is not the same.

The first 2 movies relied on well too known situations to anyone in France (or in Europe) going on holiday. If you have been on holiday skiing or to the seaside, you have LIVED what the previous 2 movies depicted. They both were very, very good at pointing all these defects we have, all these little things that can go wrong, all these little stupid reactions you have because you just can't help it. And they felt so true. The characters were mean, greedy, selfish, jealous, stupid, you name it. But somehow, they were endearing, you felt like you knew them, because you had gone through the same. Everything felt so familiar.

All this is exactly what all of us, who had seen the first 2 and were waiting for the 3rd one, were expecting.

And all this, is precisely what this 3rd movie is not. This movie has nothing to do with you, nothing to do with me, nothing to do with your holidays and how they can look or feel like. This movie mostly relies on obvious, exaggerated jokes. If you see some mildly comic effect at the beginning, you know it will be repeated over and over beyond the limits of your patience. You might come to identify with some of the characters: when they don't want to hear about one of their "friend's" problem, you will think, just like them, "just leave us alone and shut up, I don't want to hear about it anymore!!!"

About half way through it (well I was hoping a good 90 minutes had passed already and that the end was near, but my watch, the traitor, told me there was still quite a lot to bear), after so much screaming and so much of the same over and over again, I just wished it would finish QUICK !!!

Don't waste your time nor your good memories of the old films. No, seriously. Don't.