Les 11 Commandements

First of all what everyone must understand is that basically it can't be as well appreciated by someone who does not understand french. The hardest thing to translate is humour. I learned this the hard way... what's funny in french often doesn't even translate into English and vice versa.

I enjoyed this film. Not all the sketches were exceptional but some moments had me in hysterics. I did see Jackass and I didn't like it as much. If you have seen other things with Michael Youn and his two buddies you will understand why they're so popular in France, they are actually quite hilarious. Although I think I can live on without seeing Michael Youn yelling MORNING LIVE naked through the streets of Paris for the 100th time. (FYI NO THAT WAS NOT A SPOILER FROM THE MOVIE ITS FROM HIS SHOW MORNING LIVE which is no longer airing)

Obviously if you do not like this genre of film, don't watch it, plain and simple. You will not like it... I REPEAT you will not like it.

When I noticed that `11 Commandments', was a huge success in France, more than bigger productions as `Les Rivieres Pourples 2' or ' Blueberry', I was really surprised.

I came to know Michael Youn in `LA BEUZE', a very strange and irregular film, somewhat funny but not superb or worth to recommend. Out of curiosity, I bought the French Special Edition DVD with the theatrical plus the uncensored version not shown in theatres.

To my surprise, after a simple start premise (GOD order a group of friends to do absurd things and make the world a funnier place), this group of people start doing the most stupid things you could imagine. Working like a hidden camera, but never showing peoples face, the movie becomes a chronicle of a bunch of stupid acts, not particularly interesting but some of them quite gross (the uncensored version goes a little further but nothing to get excited about).

Is the movie funny? In my humble opinion ABSOLUTELY NOT.

I did not see JACKASS THE MOVIE, but I believe it must be something alike (and JACKASS was a success in USA). It is a bunch of people damaging themselves (and sometimes others). It is like seeing a bunch of kids playing with everything forbidden (without parents controlling them), it could seems something liberating, and sometimes innocent bystanders reactions are really fun to watch, but in this case, is just child's play. It is as if somebody paid this people to break things. It should be a joy for them; but watching them do it have not meaning to me.

You probably have a lot better things to do than watch this movie.

That's a lamentable and horrible French new comic movie. Five men organize some artifice outside, in the city. They made a vulgar copycat of the American version. The director said every plan has been turned in the original version and every circumstance come from the true life. But the truth, all scenes was realized in studio or outside with the acknowledgeable actors. All situations are dreadful and the photography stays very ghastly. The comedians don't merit any stratagem of eloquence. They are poor people; they have no good judgment of arts and conformity. They believed they are very funny and they think to develop a succulent pleasantry, but they missed effortlessly and the story keeps up a correspondence of they foolhardiness.

I hired this from the video club at work and am already regretting the 1.5 euros wasted on this enterprise. The film is a non-starter, totally uninteresting and not funny at all. To laugh in front of this one, you'd need to import several cylinders of laughing gas, and high-quality laughing gas at that. Under the pretext of making the world a funnier place, we are treated to a group of men supposedly playing jokes on other people - unfortunately there is no humour at all and if this is what humorous cinema has been reduced to in the year 2004, the world is indeed in a sorry, sorry state. This film brought to mind another American series, just as humorless and just as pointless, called "Jackass" featuring a load of pathetic masochistic idiots showing off in front of the camera.

I don't like to be 100% negative about any film but quite frankly this one, as well as its DVD, would be better off melted down into plastic for dustbins on council estates !

Frankly I thought it was an awesome movie. It was extremely similar to jackass, except for a few differences that made it better. First of all it was well french and second of all it was like three times funny.

I watched Jackass one and two.... they were funny I laughed and enjoyed them very much, but in this movie I just couldn't help myself I was in hysterics the whole time. It had a better concept. An actual story line. Jackass was a bunch of stupid stuff crammed together, although enjoyable I would hardly call it a movie. Less 11 commandments had a general story line. It tied all they're stupid stuff together to make an enjoyable film.

Another difference is that in this movie there was more comedy. It wasn't just guys hurting themselves and doing vulgar competitions it was comedy and pranks. It was more fun less grotesque competition to out disgust one another.

So if a bunch of random guys being complete tools is your kind of humor then you'll love it, but if your too 'mature' for that kind of comedy... well then obviously it won't appeal to you. It's logic man.