Brice de Nice

The beginning of BRICE DE NICE is very funny, colorful and lively. It's very ridiculous but that's what makes it so funny. But once the "story" kicks in (father looses his money, Brice needs to find a job and live in the real world), the film falls apart and never recovers. There are a few interesting bits here and there but 80% of the film is almost unwatchable. It's so forced, trite and unfunny that it makes me wonder who created the first 20%.

The concept of BRICE DE NICE is not that different than one of those Saturday Night Live sketches and making a whole movie out of this wacky character was probably overkill when a short film or TV episode would have been sufficient.

I give the beginning an 8 but the rest of the movie a 1...cassé!

In 1995, Jean Dujardin organized his first shows around a character he knew when he was in high school entitled Brice. The latter took himself for someone witty, clever and whose formidable verbal words helped him to maintain respect around him. Dujardin kept him in memory to create an eternal teenager and a dreamy rich kid, fond of surfing who's waiting for his hour glory.

"Brice De Nice" was one of the most profitable movies in 2005 from a commercial perspective. Artistically, well it's another story. The main problem with James Huth's effort or rather Dujardin's (the director contents himself with shooting without the single directing idea and it's the star who holds the reins) is that it has strongly the look of a stretched sketch to make a one hour and a half film. It means that a few jibes can be funny for a short time and it's a mistake to believe they that can be the only reliable supplier of laughter for a thin story. Hello weariness! To flesh out (so to speak) the whole, comes a two-bit subplot in the second half between Clovis Cornillac and Elodie Bouchez and superfluous filler (the sequence in the bank turned into a pseudo musical. By the way, the song "C'est Le Casse De Brice" was bound to be a big hit in France). Even with the adoption of a deliberately schoolboy tone, the whole doesn't take off on the crest of the waves but sinks at the bottom of the sea.

To appreciate "Brice De Nice" is like to appreciate the hilarious sitcom: "Un Gars, Une Fille": in small doses. Besides, Alexandra Lamy has a cameo in Huth's effort. As for Dujardin, he has real actor skills and proved it with his aforementioned shows and the quoted sitcom but also in cinema with "OSS 117: Le Caire Nid D'Espions" (2006), he nearly grabbed the César for French Best Actor this year with this role. But, here, it's not a film he would put on top of his CV. Anyway, teenagers or little demanding viewers will love this one.

It's no wonder people left the room at the movies after 20 minutes of this. This is the worst movie ever. The few parts that MIGHT have been funny were all recycled from his previous sketches. There's no real story to speak of, though the movie tries to convince you that there is some psychology at work. You can tell the parts that were supposed to be funny but failed miserably. First you will wonder why you don't understand what the heck is happening, then you'll realize that there's nothing to understand, I feel sorry for anyone who saw this at the movies. Worst movie ever. Ever.

Ever.

i found this movie to be excellent. naturally it is absolutely ludicrous and one can argue about the character not being realistic, but then it is a comedy. yet 1) i think it helps quite a lot if one has seen point break and can appreciate the notion of surfing and it being an ideology, a way of life to extract even more fun out of Brice. besides there are plenty of allusions to point break which you will miss or not regard as funny if you have never seen point break.

2) try to watch the movie in french (with subtitles if needed) and not as a synchronized version. i briefly checked out the German dubbing and it was horrible. a lot of the jokes are based on puns etc. and e.g. the "German Brice" came off as having a completely different attitude than the "French Brice"

all in all...a good, fun movie

This movie was awful. I mean I thought since it was a foreign film it would be good. I guess we can't judge before we know. Seriously, what was with those annoying songs? Especially that one where it went give me the tax. Come on, get some better lyrics. I couldn't stand his personality. It was way to cocky and superficial. Well, I didn't enjoy that movie, very disappointed by its soundtrack. Oh, and another thing what was with that odd relationship with that guy with the feet and the girl with the ears. I just thought this movies was really ridiculous for my taste. It wasn't that funny in my opinion. Just really, really, annoying. People should really learn when to stop in movies. Sometimes they just take it way to far, where there is a bridge of comedy and way to far where it just hits the point of stupidity and annoyance.