Gaston Lagaffe

Based on the classic comic strip, Gaston Lagaffe is the first film adaptation to be made since the 1981 unofficial attempt Fais Gaffe a La Gaffe! Which was unsuccessful.

This new take on Gaston was equally critically panned. And yet, there is something refreshing about this film, especially after the disastrous Spirou and Fantasio's Big Adventures, another comic book adaptation also released in 2018. For a start, there is a palpable effort being made here: the filmmakers appear to be familiar with the general idea of what Gaston is all about and certainly try to put it across as best they can.

The cast, the costumes, character dynamics and many of the gags all feel appropriate, close enough to the comic strips, at least. The Spirou movie failed to even scratch the surface of what it should have been but this makes a valiant attempt and ends up having a good amount of charm. Unfortunately, the jokes often don't land. Translating the mostly slapstick humor of the strips, and Franquin's iconic art style, was always going to be a challenge and, while this movie gives it its best shot, it doesn't quite hit the mark in terms of the humor.

The script needed to be a lot sharper. There are some good lines and genuinely amusing moments, however, that should definitely be enough to keep younger viewers, and the young at heart, entertained.

The special effects are also hit or miss and changing the setting from a magazine to a company that turns pointless items into useful ones will prove a bit jarring to those familiar with the comics. Critics were unjustly harsh on this film. It really isn't bad. In fact, it's an endearingly silly and laid back cartoon, much like Gaston himself. And, like Gaston, it's clever and clumsy in equal amounts so you might resist its charms for a little while, it'll annoy you a bunch, but it'll win you over.

Cute.

As a lot of people i grow up with Gaston the comics and it was some kind of genius on our kid's eyes. French do great thinks but to make a funny movie with a belgian icon as gaston you need... the Belgian touch you don(t heve here so... it's a fail

This is a fun film and they did a quite decent job where it comes to incorporating the main elements of the comic strip. In essence Gaston is a bone idle idiot (talking about the comic strip here) with the occasional stroke of genius who lives in a world of his own. If they did anything wrong here, it's that they gave the film too much of a plot, made DeMesmaeker evil and tried to give the contracts a reason. Oh, and they could have made Gaston a bit lazier: after all in one of the strips he is awakened at his desk, early in the morning, having slept there all through the night and his enthousiastic reaction is: "Make sure you put it down as overtime".

The score for this movie actually made me write my first review ever in all my years on this site. I only recently discovered that this movie exists by accidentally finding a trailer on YouTube. My reaction was mixed between cringe and excitement, excitement because I adore the work of Franquin and cringe because usually "live action" adaptations are very difficult to pull off.

It is by no means a perfect film, but I think people underestimate how difficult it is to craft an overarching narrative for a movie based on one or half page comic strip gags. It brings with it a lot of difficulties. In a comic strip readers don't wonder why the lazy mail man doesn't get fired because the world is very small. In a movie however you need to construct character motivation. Additionally, I believe the comic was set in around the sixties, so the writers needed to modernize the setting and the characters a bit, and I think they did well.

Sometimes the choices they make are a little bit hamfisted, for example they turned the policeman antagonist into a meter maid, policeman in training, but in the comic this was his primary role, to give Gaston a hard time for parking without paying, so they had to fit it in somehow. Most of the time, however, I think the choices work.

What surprises me is no one seems to notice how much LOVE and respect went into this movie. It doesn't come off as a mindless cash grab at all. The boy who plays Gaston is a perfect choice, he has the posture, the looks and is very very endearing, but also annoying and a bit awful in his own ways. The readers of the comic surely remember that Gaston could sometimes be a bit of a jerk, but overall likeable. And I feel they captured this spirit. Also they did right by the characters, Prunelle does well, as does mademoiselle Jeanne and they definitely nailed the spirit of Lebrac. What gave me so much joy was seeing Jules de chez Smith en face and Bertrand. With those two they took the essence of the characters of Gastons slacker friends and they modernized them in a respectful way. Applause!

The story is all in all quite thin and serves mostly as a vehicle to get a lot of visual gags out there, but I think it works. They pay homage to visuals from the comics from the get go and you'll find a lot of recognizable tidbits all throughout the movie if you know the comics well. I like how they made De Mesmaeker the antagonist and how we learn what the contracts are for. The antics and inventions ramp up in the function of the plot, in my book it works.

I really feel like the people who created this movie really came from a place of respect and love for the comic and they did their utmost best to construct a movie around the world of Gaston. Their efforts are commendable and I strongly lament the negativity of the reception of this movie. What did people expect?? How would they have wanted to see it different? It's never gonna be exactly the same, but I honestly think they stayed as close to the source material as they could or should. This movie gave me a lot of joy and is a great expansion of the Gaston universe.

I really really hope the movie was successful enough, made back a good amount of money and that the people who worked on it and the actors are proud of what they made. Honestly the low score breaks my heart! It's not deserved. Thank you for this very adequate slice of nostalgia! I love it.

As much as I can love Pef (Pierre-François Martin-Laval), I didn't find the magic of Gaston in this movie. Transforming a comic that works generally with one page gags in a long feature seems an impossible feat (the only examples I can think of French or Belgian comics successfully converted in a movie are full comic books).

To come back to the movie, if the inventiveness of Gaston that perspires in the comic is indeed found in the movie (through Gaston's invention but also through the use of failed manufactured products, Gaston is too much reduced to that aspect and to his sleepiness. I guess to make him the action spring makes difficult to convey the comic Gaston.