The Funniest French Comedies

When Pigs Have Wings (Le Cochon de Gaza)
      2011 | France | Laughs: 3.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

I was excited to watch a comedy based in Gaza, and pleased to recognize the main actor from the lovely The Band's Visit in the opening frames. However, the movie fails to deliver laughs. It is sometimes cute and always well-intentioned but suffers from a weak plot and mediocre acting. The story revolves around a Palestian community and Israeli settlers in the Gaza strip faced with the arrival of a pig, an animal abhorrent to both sides on religious grounds. For me, the best part for me was hearing the intermingling of Hebrew and Arabic—hardly worth the time investment. For a far more potent movie about Israel and Palestine, turn to the excellent Paradise Now (not a comedy). (Last viewed: December 2013)

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Les Barbouzes
      1964 | France | Laughs: 3.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.0
      who was involved?

Five spies compete for the attention of the heiress to a portfolio of patents about weapon technologies. This black-and-white film is still watchable if you have an interest in old movies, but I don't feel I would have missed much if I hadn't seen it. (Last viewed: January 2013)

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Populaire
      2012 | France | Laughs: 3.0 | imdb: 6.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

In the late 1950s, a business man trains his secretary to win the regional speed-typing championship. I'm not always fond of period movies, but somehow this one really pulls it off. This is not the kind of movie that's designed to make you laugh, but it's a fun romantic comedy with plenty of smiles. I liked it. (Last viewed: August 2014)

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The Five Crazy Boys (Les Bidasses en Folie)
      1971 | France | Laughs: 3.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 5.4
      who was involved?

Five rebellious young men get called in for their mandatory year of military training. The film takes a really long time to get going. For the first half hour or so, our anti-heroes just muck around a small town trying their hands at various little jobs to pay for musical instruments. Once they get pulled in, there are some good chuckles, all in the vein of what you expect from army comedies. Overall I'd say this is not worth watching except perhaps for historical value. (Last viewed: August 2014)

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I Do (Prête-Moi ta Main)
      2006 | France | Laughs: 3.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

To relieve the relentless efforts of his mother and sister to find him a bride, a middle-aged bachelor hires a fake fiancée who is assigned first to seduce his family, second to "break his heart" by not showing at the altar. A fairly predictable romantic comedy that is entirely watchable but short on laughs. (Last viewed: April 2015)

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The Annuity (Le Viager)
      1972 | France | Laughs: 3.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.9
      who was involved?

In 1930, a Parisian doctor thinks he has stumbled on the perfect scheme. He convinces one of his patients (then 59 years old) to retire in a house the patient has bought on the Riviera, and to sell that house to the doctor's brother against a sum to be paid yearly as long as the man lives. Certain that the man only has two years to live, the doctor believes he has cooked a great deal for his brother. However, the climate of southern France seems to benefit the supposedly dying retiree. This movie that spans forty years is a really fun watch—though definitely in the light-hearted category, as it's designed to make you smile rather than laugh. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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C'est Pas Moi C'est Lui
      1980 | France | Laughs: 3.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 5.5
      who was involved?

A ghost-writer impersonates his boss on a working journey to Tunisia to discuss a new script with a film star. This movie has a few chuckles, but overall it's a bore and a waste of talent—as Pierre Richard is an outstanding actor in the comedy genre (see Knock on Wood for instance ) and Aldo Maccione holds his own. (Last viewed: July 2014)

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He Even Has Your Eyes (Il a déjà tes yeux)
      2016 | France | Laughs: 2.6 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 6.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A French couple of African origins adopt a white child. Comedy-wise, there are a few good moments thanks in large part to the offbeat family friend, but too much of the smiling you'll do while watching this movie relies on the cheap trick of harnessing the natural tendency most of us have to mirror the wide smiles we see on the faces of attractive people. Plot-wise, the movie is not only predictable (predictably so, of course), but it's ending is sickly-sweet. Interesting, but that horrible ending left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Please go manipulate someone else with that nonsensical fable in which France is an accepting multi-cultural country where at bottom everyone is decent and everything has to end well.

(Last viewed: November 2019)

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Robert Et Robert
      1978 | France | Laughs: 2.5 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This lighthearted movie introduces us to two socially-challenged bachelors who visit the same marriage bureau and become friends. It's a fun watch, with a delightful twist near the end that brings chuckles thanks to Jacques Villeret, the lead actor in The Dinner Game. (Last viewed: July 2014)

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Sadsacks Go to War (Les Bidasses s'en Vont en Guerre)
      1974 | France | Laughs: 2.5 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 5.5
      who was involved?

This sequel to The Five Crazy Boys continues their adventures in the army. It's watchable and well-intentioned but didn't manage to make me laugh. If you're really in the mood for an army comedy, go watch Stripes or Hill Halfon Doesn't Answer. (Last viewed: August 2014)

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Un Chien Dans Un Jeu de Quilles
      1983 | France | Laughs: 2.2 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 5.2
      who was involved?

A Parisian psychologist travels to his native Brittany to help his half-brother fight the rich landowner who is trying to expel them from their family farm. A decent lighthearted movie with a bit of local texture and a few chuckles. (Last viewed: July 2014)

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Santa Claus is a Stinker (Le Père Noël est une Ordure)
      1982 | France | Laughs: 2.2 (Just Awful) | imdb: 7.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

French. The few laughs are not worth the ninety minutes of crass dialogue. Happily skip. (Last viewed: July 2009)

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Crooks in Clover (Les Tontons Flingueurs)
      1963 | France | Laughs: 2.1 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

When his old friend dies, a retired gangster inherits a capricious "niece", a handful of shady businesses (casino, brothel, distillery) and a crew of managers who are unready to bow to a new king. This was recommended to me as a very funny movie by someone who saw it when it first came out. Very funny it no longer is. If you like old black-and-white movies, this is a pleasant one. Otherwise, you can safely skip it. (Last viewed: December 2012)

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The Reefer Brothers (Les Freres Pétard)
      1986 | France | Laughs: 2.1 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 5.2
      who was involved?

I hunted this movie down because I was desperate for another chance to see Jacques Villeret, the main actor of The Dinner Game. The price was too high. This movie has very little in the way of the witty dialogue often found in French comedies. Indeed, you can barely hear the actors speak under the loud and awful rock music that blares throughout the movie. The sound editing may very well have been done on a Walkman. I watched this movie so you wouldn't have to: unless you're masochistic, give it wide berth. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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French Fried Vacation 3 (Les Bronzés 3: Amis pour la Vie)
      2006 | France | Laughs: 2.0 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 3.9
      wikipedia | who was involved?

28 years after the original Les Bronzés, the same team is reunited at an Italian holiday resort. I chuckled twice, so on the comedy level this clearly isn't worth watching. However, there are two great things about this movie. First, it is simply fascinating to see what happens to the human body in 28 years. I watched this sequel the night after watching the original again, and that was really interesting. Second, the theme song, Baila Morena, makes you want to get up and dance. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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