Le père Noël est une ordure !

I must have seen this film about 100 times : Le Père Noël... is probably the most famous french comedy ever done, at least in France, far, far more famous and cult than the recent "Le diner De cons" (which is not cult at all, plain funny and that's it). Le Père Noël wasn't a real hit when it got released (it was in fact the movie version of the same-titled play), but it gradually became THE reference in cult comedy amongst french teenagers. I don't even see what the equivalent could be in the States. Anyway : each and every line of this film is sheer fun delight, total trashy-meets-uptight-meets gory-meets-nonsensical humor. Obviously untranslatable and mainly based upon the very subtle depiction of each character, most of the specific expressions of the film are now part of everyday language. It's not even a must-see for every french movie-goer since everyone has seen it at least once in his life. For those who don't cringe at french humor (nothing scatological here), this is an absolute topper in fun. Highly recommended.

This cult play has become a cult movie in the 80s. If you are not French ... beware! ... the dialogues are falsely simple and you will probably remain indifferent wich such a French masterpiece. Otherwise, it's total happiness with divine dialogues carried by almost-mythical characters.

Here is a brief overview of the incalculable number of legendary replicas: C'est c'laaaaa oui. Roulé sous les aisselles. Ça dépend, ça dépasse. Félix, Joyeux Noël Félix! Nous habitions des gîtes infâmes quai Branly. Vous êtes myopes des yeux, myopes du coeur et myopes du cul. Thérèse n'est pas moche, elle n'a pas un physique facile, c'est différent. C'est fin, c'est très fin, ça se mange sans faim.

A French jewel!

I have seen this movie yesterday for the Xth times. After all these views, I still cannot get tired of it. Yesterday, I was wondering when this movie was actually happening. It is actually dated of 1982. 21 years ago. And after all this time every single piece of humour you see or hear is stil funny.

Ok, the sets are a bit old fashioned but stil represents the type of low-end apartment you could find in Paris and that would be hired by an non-profit association like SOS Detresse amitie.

I don't know what makes this movie so present and why it is impossible not to find it funny after all this time. I think it is the ability to make laugh by taking the opposite of the common sense.

Another interesting point is that the Pere Noel has been adapted from a theatre play written and played by the same actors as in the film. And the movie doesn't look like a filmed play as it often is. There's been a great job in the adaptation of the text as well as the story (because there are some important differences)

I am afraid I will see this movie every year and always laugh with it.

This is one of these films in your country that for some reason, somehow, has transformed into a national treasure. People will immediately dislike you and frown at you when you recall how you don't think it's a good film. They'll immediately think there's something wrong with you, when really the film isn't even that defensible, it's not like the film is amazing on any level or anything, it's just a crowd favorite. Objectively, this comedy is well enough constructed in that it allows for wacky scenarios to take place and go berserk from there, all sorts of strange happenings in subplots that eventually connect. The gags are those of a prude society of the time (early 80's) liberating itself with silly, stuck-up eruptions of vulgarity whether verbally or through act. It isn't really funny, most of the comedy here being cheap sex-oriented, taboo type humor. It's barely entertaining at all to watch now, moving back from it in the later decades, but at one point this was the absolute blast of absolute blasts, and it's hard to even imagine this is the same Jean-Marie Poiré who, a decade later, would go on to write the mythical, legendary "Les Visiteurs", for this reviewer, the single greatest french film of all-time.

Definitely one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. It's a family tradition to watch this film every year at christmas since it came out on tape :D The dialog is so witty, quotes are so memorable, "vous voulez cracher, Therese? Non, car c'est offert de bon coeur"... All classic stuff.