Le père Noël est une ordure !

you can realize that this movie is great just looking at this title. How a christmas night can become the most hilarious movie in French History. Written and played by the friends of the "Splendid" before they split and make other less funny flicks, le pere Noel is a trash look at surrealistic characters who are going to live the most incredible christmas day of their life in the office of "SOS détresses amitié", a phone service in charge to help people feel better . The american remake "mixed nuts" is a shame, that's why, if you haven't see this masterpiece yet, try to get it by all means (legally).

Definitely one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. It's a family tradition to watch this film every year at christmas since it came out on tape :D The dialog is so witty, quotes are so memorable, "vous voulez cracher, Therese? Non, car c'est offert de bon coeur"... All classic stuff.

I must have seen this film about 100 times : Le Père Noël... is probably the most famous french comedy ever done, at least in France, far, far more famous and cult than the recent "Le diner De cons" (which is not cult at all, plain funny and that's it). Le Père Noël wasn't a real hit when it got released (it was in fact the movie version of the same-titled play), but it gradually became THE reference in cult comedy amongst french teenagers. I don't even see what the equivalent could be in the States. Anyway : each and every line of this film is sheer fun delight, total trashy-meets-uptight-meets gory-meets-nonsensical humor. Obviously untranslatable and mainly based upon the very subtle depiction of each character, most of the specific expressions of the film are now part of everyday language. It's not even a must-see for every french movie-goer since everyone has seen it at least once in his life. For those who don't cringe at french humor (nothing scatological here), this is an absolute topper in fun. Highly recommended.

Because of a nearly sole scenery, you guess that Jean-Marie Poiré's movie is the adaptation of a play. If the first minutes of the movie seem weak, what comes next makes them quickly forget. As soon as the nearly sole scenery (the flat of "SOS Amitié") appears on the screen, there is a ripple of dialogs, the gags follow on from each other. The whole is supported by an either devastating either nasty humor. We're very far from the crude vulgar humor in "les bronzés" (1978). Let's add actors who are all excellent (Thierry Lhermitte, Gérard Jugnot and Christian Clavier in front). They have a tremendous time in the shoes of their respective characters and they perfectly portray them. The best movie from the "Splendid" crew and one of the highlights in French comedy.

This is the kind of movie you don't mind watching over and over again because its script is so rich, so full of wonderful dialogue and genuinely funny situations, that one view isn't enough to absorb everything. Ultimately, this is a film about the spirit of Christmas in the modern times. We live stressed and frantic lives, so why would Christmas Eve be different form a regular day? That's sort of the premise of this movie.

LE PÈRE NOEL EST UNE ORDURE is a black comedy, a very dark one, full of odd characters and bizarre situations. Themes like homosexuality, suicide and murder aren't left behind and spice up this crazy, passionate, comedy set on Christmas Eve.

The performances are plain terrific, with no exception. The characters are wonderfully defined and the dialogue is delicious. It's impossible not to laugh. a lot! After a relatively calm beginning, the wacky situations start to pile up in a frenzy rhythm. Being a huge fan of black comedies myself, I prefer a more subtle approach to the themes. The humor here is sometimes histrionic, theatrical and over-the-top. That can be easily accepted because the movie is adapted from a stage play and, in the end, it works in perfection.