Les bronzés font du ski

It is an excellent movie!! A French monument! For English speakers, you can find the DVD with English subs on amazon.co.uk. Most of the actors are part of the French comedy group called "Le Splendid", and they're all simply awesome. This movie is a sequel of "Les Bronzes" which in my opinion is not worth watching. It's good but it's far below the laughing fest that is "Les Bronzes font du ski". The dialogues are perfect and the situations are just hilarious. A group of friends who met in a Club Med for single people reunite to go ski together. When they decide to do a helicopter drop at the top of a ski resort things start to go wrong...but it gets real funny for us! I'm French but I hope foreigners will get a chance to watch it since it was a huge success in France along with "Le Pere Noel est une Ordure" (also available on amazon uk)made by the same "Splendid" group.

This second movie of the team from the Splendid (a french theater) is as interesting as their first "Les Bronzes". Many jokes and many hilarious shots. The style of the movie is pretty the same than the first but is not a bad imitation. You could see the two movies one after the others (this is an advice) and appreciate them at their true worth.

The fame of these movies is so great that in France, it is very usual to meet people who have seen them more than ten times. The success of the the actors is so good that they have made many movies after these ones and many of them were very good. (For example: "le pere noel est une ordure")

If you like it, you're half-way to become a french "classics" amateur! It's not quite understandable for someone who doesn't know a bit about french comedies, yet it can allow you to grab a glimpse of what makes froggies laugh. It's full of references for one who knows a little about France, but it's definitely not a 'clever' movie. Lean back in your seat, imagine you're an average person who just wants to relax and you're in!

What struck me as being strange in this movie is that from the Beginning to the End it feels like the opening of a comedy film, in the sense that the rapid juxtapositions accompanied by the.jumpy Pop songs were rather fitting of a quick, typical film introduction.

But here the "introduction" never ends, only when the credits start rolling.

This is to say what? This is to say that the film is, basically, one prolonged sketch. Or, if you will, an accumulation of sketches.

And it is a solid, relatively funny, creative, and slightly charming sketch.

But it is not substantially more.

Nevertheless, I did quite enjoy the alpine, snowy setting, the cast, and the overtly French touch of it.

This one is even better than the first "Les Bronzés". The director has traded the Club Med for the French Alps. But the cast, luckily, is the same. There is some hilarious scenes, especially in the second half. One example: the food and drinks at the peasants' house in the mountain. Far from an intellectual movie, it's one that jokes about some French ways of doing thing or seeing life. Not one of Leconte's best, but still good. One thing's for sure though, the soundtrack is passé! Great way to spend a Sunday night at home.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on February 26th, 2006.

76/100 (**½)