Sacrée jeunesse

A grumpy old man seems to have one foot in the grave.His unscrupulous nephew(and wife)want to buy his valuable property in return for a life annuity;but unbeknown to him,the shrewd insurance agent does it first.

Anyway ,the old man is not in a hurry to leave for the next world.In a chic Swiss clinic ,there's a miracle doctor who's got a marvelous cure (induced hibernation).When he returns,his wife,a churchy old woman says it is Satan's magic;the nephews are disappointed .The rejuvenated uncle does not leave it at that:he hires a secretary to write his memoirs (or so he says).

This is a pleasant little comedy,based on a play,which reminds the viewer of one of Sacha Guitry's obsessions:the fear of getting old and decrepit;Berthomieu is not in the same league but ,in spite of a rather "moral" ending ,he puts his finger on man's recurrent dream: to find the fountain of youth.

With hindsight,the youngsters who appear in the first sequence are today's senior citizens and their trendy slang has grown obsolete.One of them (a Young Guy Bedos) is not gallant at all: uncle Tom,thus revivified,thinks that it's no way to treat a lady and he gives him a sound slap .