Le grand restaurant

As a Funés fan, it's hard for me to pick the best ones, but this would definitely stand in my top ten! ...or say top fifteen. This time he is the chef of very exclusive Paris restaurant.

Choleric as ever, he wants everything to be in the right order or even better. Problems occur when president of one unnamed country gets kidnaped while having a dinner at Septim's. With police and gangsters behind his back he tries to find the missing head of state by himself. And obviously a lot of fun happens during this adventure.

Funés is gorgeous as always, very energetic with funny gesticulation. The plot is simple, but cleverly written with many surprising turnovers. And add in the fabulous scene where DS Citroen falls into Sienna river, continuing its ride as a boat and you get the great entertaining movie of comedy empire of those times! Step in, tastes fresh and makes you laugh after all these years:-)

In this Louis de Funes recital he is Monsieur Septime who runs his Paris resturant : Chez Septime in military style, controlling strictly his waiters and cooks. One day, receives a famous guest, a fatty president : Folco Lulli of a South American country. Things go wrong, when Septime becomes involved into a kidnapping.

Hilarious comedy with emotion, mayhem, pursuits, car crashes, entertainment and amusement. Louis de Funes steals the show with his extreme mimic and sympathy in a role that fits him as a glove as a greedy man who owns his renowned restaurant with iron fist. Louis de Funes vehicle, outstanding thanks to his sympathetic overacting, as he puts strange faces, gestures and excessive gesticulation. Here Louis plays a restaurant owner who runs manu military by controlling his workers here and there, even disguising himself, and when a guest is kidnapped, looks as if Septime has something to do with it. From his first characters as Devil and 10 Commandments, Captain Fracassa, La Vendetta, until his greatest hits as Don't look now we are being shot along with Bourvil, Fantomas Trilogy along with Jean Marais : Fantomas, Fantomas strikes again, Fantomas vs Scotland Yard to the Cadillac Man, Wing and the thigh and his final movie The mad adventures of Rabbi Jacob, Louis de Funes was a brilliant comedian. Although Funes really excels in Ludovic Cruchot series as Le Gendarme of Saint Tropez, Gendarme in Balade, Le Gendarme in N. Y. , Le Gendarme and creatures of outer space, and his last film feature : Le Gendarmes and the Gendarmettes. He is well accompanied by a good cast as Bernard Blier playing a stubborn commissario, the Italian Venantino Venantini and Folco Lulli as President Nogales who disappears when dining at Septime restaurant, furthermore, brief appearances as two waiters of Michael Modo and Guy Grosso, usual colleagues to Louis De Funes in Gendarme Saint-Tropez series.

Well produced by one of the best French producers, Alain Poire who financed other Funes outings . Including a lively and jolly musical score by Jean Marion. The motion picture was well directed by Jacques Besnard at his film debut. If you like Funes' overacting you'll enjoy this one.

A cult comedy is from my point of view, a movie in which you can't remember all the funny moments and therefore, you are always happy to discover them again and again.

So, there, I knew that De Funes was a terrible, tyrannic boss of a great restaurant but his manners eluded me while they are really funny! He's truly the best actor in this field and beyond, a very talented one. As Al (Pacino), I feel that De Funes exudes humanity, compassion and class behind all his jokes…

In addition, as it figures among the oldest movies I saw, it was great to see Paris an half-century ago. Besides cars and trends, I feel that Paris was more "green" with trees than actually.

Unfortunately, when the main thing is served, the script becomes strange: a mix between Bond for the aquatic car and the Pink Panther for the winter sequence… We are far away of the restaurant!

In conclusion, great appetizers but the menu left me wanting for more!

This is the directoring debut for Jacques Besnard. The restaurant in the title is called Septime, named after the owner (Louis de Funes). A very two-sided person, smarmy towards the guest, but a hard and hysterical boss towards the employees. As the action takes place, Septime is welcoming a president (Folco Lulli) as a customer, a president (of which country we don't know) togther with his secretary Sophia (Maria-Rosa Rodriguez) and a security man. Suddenly during the dinner, fireworks goes on, and the lights go out. The result, a missing president.

Police chief (Bertrand Blier) takes over. There is no doubt in his mind, the president is abducted. Septime with the help of Sophia trying to solve the mystery.

Louis de Funes in topform and a very welcome to the always good Blier, so to speak the french version of Robert Morley.

As a French film from 1966 there's quite a lot of time with some carchases. Much of which happening around the ski resort of Val d'Isere.

A lot of good fun.

Spending even a little bit of time with a Louis de Funès film is proof enough of what a comedic genius he was; to the extent that there is variation in quality, it's by a matter of degrees (and personal preference) rather than whole numbers. With de Funès having contributed to the writing in this instance in addition to starring the stage is readily set for a good time. Surprisingly, 'Le grand restaurant' is actually more restrained and straightforward compared to other works in the man's oeuvre: de Funès' wild expressions and gesticulations are deemphasized, the length is very heavy with plot, and in general gags and comedy tend to be reserved for major sequences rather than proliferate throughout. In fact, though played for laughs and lighthearted fun, I don't think it's unreasonable to say that this is built more as an earnest thriller. Whatever the style, however, the unquestionable truth remains that this is superbly engaging and entertaining, and rather deserves much more broad recognition.

Excise the sillier facets and the screenplay devised between de Funès, Jean Halain, and filmmaker Jacques Besnard could very easily have been shaped into a serious spy flick, the story of an ordinary person who is unwittingly drawn into a game of international intrigue. The scene writing, stunts, and effects are ripe for adventurous excitement as much as for comedy, and Besnard's direction and Raymond Pierre Lemoigne's cinematography both seem geared more particularly toward those sincere thriller ends, not least at the climax where the very filming locations are also primed for it. Yet with every element being wonderfully exaggerated and/or cheekily twisted, especially the characterizations, dialogue, and acting, the result is glad amusement rather than pulse-pounding fixation. Naturally de Funès stands out most as protagonist and beleaguered, demanding restauranteur Septime, but all his co-stars are just as splendid. And really, everything here is just as solid as one would assume of any contemporary fare - not just those stunts and effects, or the direction or cinematography, but also the sets, costume design, hair, makeup, and editing.

Probably owing to the difference in tone, however slight, this maybe isn't as immediately grabbing or as completely engrossing as the more outwardly farcical features among de Funès' works. Be that as it may it's thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, handily achieving its simple goal of delighting audiences, and sometimes that's all a movie needs to be. One way or another this may not be an absolute must-see, but if you do have the opportunity to watch 'Le grand restaurant,' I really don't think there's any going wrong here.