Tanguy

This film is hilarious--I saw it just today in Germany (in French with German subtitles). The first part goes into broad comedy, with the parents scheming to find ways to get their son to leave the nest. This film is just as much about the parents--even more--than the son.

i noticed that someone else commented about the Asian aspects of the film. At first, it really doesn't make sense, except to show Tanguy's fascination with the country, and almost as a goal (for the parents)--have him go to Peking as soon as possible. By the end, it's wonderful because there is a subtle comparison (that the audience must make) about the family situation. That is--the Chinese filial responsibility, love, and respect--and yes, there were three generations living under one roof. And in the Guetz household--all three generations have, at one point or another, lived under the same roof. That's just one way of looking at it. If you see it and go in with that idea of comparing cultural aspects of families, then maybe that would make better sense.

Tanguy made me laugh even though my understanding of French is far from perfect. The plot is simple - life in his parents Paris apartment is so pleasant Tanguy a post grad student is still there at 28 years old but his parents secretly want him out!

Sabine Azema (Tanguys mother) was so funny that she really made the film for me. Don't miss it if you like to laugh!

Etienne Chatiliez chose to broach a (rather dramatic) social phenomenon on a comedy tone: young adults who stay more and more longer with their parents. But his movie is far from the reality: these adults stay with their parents because they've got either financial problems, either psychological problems. But Tanguy doesn't suffer from both of these inconvenients, he comes from a quite wealthy family (his father is an architect and his mother a set designer. So, the movie articulates around a convenient but unlikely situation.

This doesn't stop Chatiliez from having made a lively movie, often funny, filled with numerous details that kick the bull's eye and powerful cues. In a way, his fourth movie (in thirteen years!) ranks in the tradition of his first film. You find a caustic and often cutting humor, some disagreeable situations for certain characters (and particularly his parents) and the destruction of a peaceful universe. All in all, Tanguy's parents wanted to make Tanguy's life impossible but they'll fall into their own trap.

The movie also enjoys a performance globally equal to the situation. Eric Berger, both nice and naive behind his student's glasses but also unaware of the problems he makes his parents endure. André Dussollier, entertaining in his role of exasperated and shattered father. However, Sabine Azéma hams it up a bit too often and his bombastic role fits badly to the screen.

At the end, Chatiliez showed talent, intuition and perspicacity to make an honorable success. You can just also regret that Tanguy's description lacks of vivacity and temperament. Maybe the fact of being (too much) keen on Chinese philosophy destroys anger or rebellion.

Tanguy Guetz is the single child of boomer parents (represented in a way far different from the buttoned-down standard model of US movies, but probably a whole lot closer to the American boomers who'll actually see the movie). At 28, Tanguy is staying home with his parents, and intends to go on staying home for a year or two, because he's extremely comfortable there, never has to pick up anything or handle any bills, and lives with the two people he loves most. The feeling of comfort is definitely not mutual.

But, as his parents mobilize for a get-out-of-here campaign, they meet the perfect stonewall. Tanguy is a major specialist of traditional Chinese thought, and he faces everything with an equanimity that a hundred-year-old sage would envy. The one-sided war escalates to the point where Tanguy sues his parents for bed and board, and wins. Eventually, he does fly off for a long stay in Beijing, and then, of course, the parents discover what it means to be the sandwich generation: Tanguy's grandmother breaks a hip.

The blows are softened by the fact that the Guetz are quite well off. Else the movie would cut too close to the bone to be the uproarious farce that it is. The main actors, Eric Berger (Tanguy) and Sabine Azéma (his mother) play their characters with contagious fun.

Enjoyable French comedy with funny scenario and inspiring cast. In a way, it reminds me Danny De Vito's "The war of the roses": how a simple idea (there, a case of divorce; here, dad and mom wanting to get rid of his 28 year old son) can be handled with such a black sense of humor, mixing fun and fierce satire at the same time. Unfortunately (and without giving much away), "Tanguy" resents a little from his length and refuses to go further on his almost surreal developed premise taking a kind and conformist turn in the end. Nevertheless, it's much more than entertainment: you'll be amused and will think about its subject after leaving the cinema.