Le Grand Restaurant

I love de Funés too, but I can't claim to have seen all of his movies; (he made like a hundred, right?) I will say that this one is absolutely hilarious though.

De Funés plays Septime, the despotic owner of a high class Paris restaurant, one which entertains the Paris glitterati as well as ministers of the French government. Once a foreign president disappears in the middle of Septime's grand number of lighting fire to a fancy dessert, Septime finds himself in an escalating drama. The police inspector suspects him, a revolutionary group from the missing president's country is after him, and the president's entourage blames him and demands he helps them find the missing head of state. Everyone is looking for the president, and they all ask of a terrified Septime to find him.

The poor Septime travels effortlessly (and lightning fast) between the sheer horror of finding himself in this situation, and the hilarious fits he throws whenever a staff member of his fails to meet perfection. The catch phrase of the movie is an angry kissing sound Septime makes whenever he wants to call an employee's attention to himself, without disturbing the guests, and it never gets tired.

I once heard a rumour that de Funés in person was exactly like the high-strung choleric characters he played, and thusly passed away too soon in a heart attack. I have no idea if this is true, but you do get the sense that he is more or less playing himself, which makes for some very convincing comedy. The man was a comedic genius, and this movie is a superb vehicle for him.

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.

Monsieur Septime (de Funès) is your (stereo)typical French restaurant manager...you know, the kind that perpetually inflates his own ego, disparages his employees and treats his patrons as royalty (unless, of course, they're German). While the film's plot is rather canned and disjointed, what makes this worth watching is Louis de Funès himself, one of France's most iconic comedians and expressionists. His uncanny ability to rapidly contort his face and externalize his character's frustrations effectively erase the issue of the language barrier on the film's humor, and is done so in a way that doesn't relegate it to the bottom shelf slapstick comedy. Though subtitles may be required, Le Grand Restaurant is a great first course introduction to the feast of funny from de Funès.

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.

Another superb performance by 'Fufu', whose genius radiates throughout every scene, in a cult classic film, which dates back to an era when both French gastronomy and comedy were still at the height of what had made their greatness and their admiration all over the world.

9.9/10