La fête des pères

A gay couple who wants a baby: the starting point is promising. It just takes a great director (Howard Hawks, Billy Wilder and a few others) to make the most of it. Unfortunately the director of this insignificant French comedy, Joy Fleury, does not live up to the potentialities of such a situation. Of course the "odd couple" is well chosen: Thierry Lhermitte and Alain Souchon are both likable. Sure, the director has respect for homosexuals and never indulges in clichéd irony or concealed contempt. The trouble is that these are the two only good points. The direction is listless (this was Joy Fleury's second and last film as a director and you easily understand why) and the subject is dealt with in a very superficial manner. To make matters worse, Gunilla Karlzen, the actress who plays the surrogate mother, although very pretty to look at, proves utterly unable to express the least emotion, let alone nuance. It is no surprise if boredom sets in. Irrevocably!