Tanguy

I did not find the story unrealistic as other users have commented. Actually I know quite a few guys and girls -of different nationalities- that live or have lived with their parents not because they could not afford to live on their own but also because it is... convenient.

It is not difficult to understand why someone would still prefer to live with his parents under these circumstances - he lives as he would in an expensive and comfortable hotel (minus the bill!). Everything is taken care of by somebody else (cleaning up after him in the bathroom, laundry & ironing, bills, shopping, preparing dinner etc), he does not have to buy a car since he can use his parents' cars, he does not have to spend his money on everyday's life necessities and he can concentrate without a single worry in his mind on whatever pleases him (e.g. being an eternal student and having a different girl every night in his bed). In a few words : he's just spoiled. You can see when he tries to live on his own that he does not even make an effort, and immediately pre-judges that he could not possibly make it on his own. He does not want to live on his own and lose all the comforts he currently enjoys.

Plausibility of the story apart, I've seen the movie three times and each time I found it equally laugh-out-loud funny - a very successful combination of well-written dialogues and very good performances by the three lead actors (especially Sabine Azema and Andre Dussolier who are playing the two parents).

'Tanguy' is a nice French comedy, although it does not start that funny. It tells about a 28-year old guy named Tanguy (Eric Berger) who still lives with his parents. At first everything seems normal, but we slowly learn that especially his mother Edith (Sabine Azéma) wants him out of there. His father Paul (André Dussloier) basically wants the same thing, but at any cost. Tanguy himself has not a clue. Here the movie becomes funnier. The parents decide to make their house a terrible place for Tanguy; he must get annoyed of the place. Things do not work out as planned and slowly Paul becomes more and more upset with his son, especially after Tanguy has tried living on his own for a couple of days.

The story becomes darker and therefore funnier. Tanguy seems a lovable person at first but slowly we come to understand the parents. His mother is truly a nice person, but too nice when Tanguy is around. Instead of being honest with him she constantly makes sure Tanguy does not want to move away. When the father starts losing it the best parts of 'Tanguy' arrive. It is too bad that the movie is already playing for an hour and a half; this is where conclusions should have been made.

Another complaint I have is the save turn the movie takes near the end. Since both parents really started hating their son, certain other events help you understand why, you wish the screenplay kept following that path. The happy ending could have been the parents being really happy, butt the turn here is even saver. Not that it's really a big deal, I enjoyed everything that leads up to the ending. Not great, but certainly entertaining.

Since I didn't enjoy "La vie est un long fleuve tranquille", I didn't expect too much from "Tanguy" when I went to the cinema. Surprisingly enough, the movie was good. I mean really good. Monsieur Chatiliez, the director of "La vie..." and "Tanguy", shows that french comedies can actually be a thousand times better than some modern American comedies. Because Tanguy has it all: this movie has a soul, charming and believable actors, a good script and well thought gags. The movie tells the story of Tanguy, a 28-year old guy who still lives with his parents. One day, his mother Edith can't take this situation any longer, and together with her husband she tries to get Tanguy out their home. It's easy to see that this storyline is a good basis for some great gags and funny situations; and the movie eventually succeeds. I left the cinema with satisfaction, because I saw one of the few intelligent - and most importantly funny - modern comedies. I recommend this gem to anyone who's tired of stupid and underwhelming American comedy-flicks like "Dumb and Dumber".

an ordinary problem of XXI century as subject of a nice French comedy. good actors, seductive situations, the fight to impose to your son to start be independent, out of the comfort of his childhood home. the only problem - Tanguy is too quite to be the bad guy and, in a society of Peter Pan syndrome, the ironic portrait of a nice boy- young man does him almost a hero. Tanguy uses same clichés of French cinema who, after decades, are the key of success. Sabine Azema and Andre Dussollier are victims of the same image of angry parents looking impose to the son the need of assume of real life.Eric Berger uses same traits of charming young man who has his person, too precise vision about existence, mixture of passion for exotic domain and sentimental affairs. so, nothing surprising.

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.