The Funniest French Comedies

The Long Holiday (Les Grandes Vacances)
      1967 | France | Laughs: 7.2 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The stern owner of a private school sends his son to England so he'll improve his English over the Summer holiday, but the son sends a friend as a substitute and goes sailing with his gang. Meanwhile, the daughter of the English family arrives at the private school in France and causes a stir among the boys. Too much happens during this 85-minute movie to properly summarize the plot, which hovers between France, England and Scotland. It's funny, I laughed, and I'll watch it again with pleasure ten years from now. (Last viewed: September 2012)

More About The Long Holiday:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for The Long Holiday

The Policeman from Saint-Tropez (a.k.a The Gendarme of Saint-Tropez) (Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez)
      1964 | France | Laughs: 7.2 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The chief policeman of a village of Provence (a region in the South of France) is transfered to the "big city": Saint-Tropez, tourist mecca on the Riviera. There, he must confront nudists, art thieves and the boys who circle around his lovely daughter. Past a certain age, comedies often lose their power to make me laugh. This 1964 movie was a beautiful exception. (Last viewed: October 2011)

More About The Policeman from Saint-Tropez:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for The Policeman from Saint-Tropez

Now We've Seen It All! (On Aura Tout Vu)
      1976 | France | Laughs: 7.2 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.2
      who was involved?

Two friends have written a script for a pure-hearted romantic film. One of them, who shoots commercials and wants to further his career, reluctantly agrees to sell the script to a producer of adult films. There are many of laughs in the series of shocks and misunderstandings that ensue. As usual, the second half of the film is less funny, but it still works.

This is not an adult comedy film—such as those pathetically unfunny movies that seem to have been so popular at one time in Italy and Australia. Rather, it is a very funny comedy that happens to deal with the pre-production phase of an adult film.

Given the circumstances, the amount of nudity is minimal (although for my taste there was still too much.) In contrast to a great number of comedies that come out of Hollywood these days, this one is never really vulgar—largely because the characters do not speak of adult themes gratuitously. In this age of trashy movies, that such a movie was made with such a delicate touch seems extraordinary: pulling it off was a high-class balancing act. Highly recommended if you can handle a small dose of adult themes. (Last viewed: July 2014)

More About Now We've Seen It All!:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Now We've Seen It All!

The Magnificient Secret Agent (Le Magnifique)
      1973 | France | Laughs: 7.2 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A writer of cheesy adventure novels writes people from his mudane Paris life into his exotic novels. Sarring Jean-Paul Belmondo (Breathless, Pierrot le Fou), this cute movie was a good surprise with its share of laughs. (Last viewed: September 2011)

More About The Magnificient Secret Agent:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for The Magnificient Secret Agent

The Sucker (Le Corniaud)
      1965 | France | Laughs: 7.1 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

An unsuspecting "nice guy" cannot believe his luck when a business man asks him to convey a brand new Cadillac from Naples to Bordeaux. Unaware that the car contains heroin, gold and contraband diamonds, our tourist does everything wrong, to the despair of the two crews of slumbags on his tail. This charming movie has aged surprisingly well. It made me smile throughout and gave me at least one good laugh. (Last viewed: October 2011)

More About The Sucker:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for The Sucker

A Perfect Plan (Un Plan Parfait)
      2012 | France | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

I watch many comedies, and sometimes I must endure a long streak without laughing once. This movie broke such a streak. If it doesn't have the highest imdb rating, that's probably because it suffers from high expectations by people who loved Dany Boon's Welcome to the Sticks. But from my standpoint as a volume consumer of comedy films, this was the best romantic comedy I'd seen in a while, and it made me laugh. It's very well put together, it has a clever plot, and there's no overacting—a rare treat in this genre. Ah, the plot? It involves a family where first marriages seem to be cursed… so that one of the daughters, eager to marry her boyfriend of ten years, decides to resort to a sham marriage-and-divorce before tying the knot for good. I will admit with shame that early on, some of the pleasure stems from seeing someone who appears at first to be the prototype of the attractive haughty woman suffer. But there is more, and the comedic power is well shared among several actors of the fine cast. If you enjoy French comedies, don't miss this one. (Last viewed: July 2014)

More About A Perfect Plan:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for A Perfect Plan

Intouchables (Les Intouchables)
      2011 | France | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 8.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A billionaire in a wheel chair hires a young man from the burbs as his next personal carer. Thanks to Omar Sy's charisma, this comedy that follows the classic "odd couple" premise is particularly successful. I laughed and look forward to watching it again. (Last viewed: May 2015)

More About Intouchables:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Intouchables

Oscar
      1967 | France | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A young man rings his employer's doorbell asking for a huge raise, then for the hand of his boss's daughter. A series of comical turnarounds follows. The first half-hour is very funny and could serve as textbook example for this particular flavor of French farce—in some ways it reminded me of The Dinner Game. The comedy does lose steam in the second half, but this is still a very satisfying movie overall. Recommended. (Last viewed: September 2012)

More About Oscar:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Oscar

The Valet (La Doublure)
      2006 | France | Laughs: 6.6 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

In need of raising money to help out the woman of his dreams, a man who parks cars outside a restaurant for a living is persuaded to cohabit with a top model. Several occasions to laugh in this film, and none to stop smiling. Nearly made the laugh-out-loud category. The film features two brilliant French comedians—Gad Elmaleh and Dany Boon. By the director who made the laugh-out-loud classic The Dinner Game (in fact the main character have the same name, François Pignon). (Last viewed: Oct 2010 September 2011)

More About The Valet:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for The Valet

The Crocodile from Botswanga (Le Crocodile du Botswanga)
      2014 | France | Laughs: 6.6 | imdb: 5.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

An agent brings a soccer player to an African country to shoot an ad and disperse the ashes of the player's mom. They fall into the snares of the country's dictator, who wants to hire the player for his national team. I found this movie very funny—funnier than the first film by the same crew, Back to Square One. It was also well-made, nice to look at and original. I'd love to see more comedies set in Africa—it's been a long time since Coming to America. (Last viewed: August 2014)

More About The Crocodile from Botswanga:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for The Crocodile from Botswanga

The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (Le Grand Blond avec une Chaussure Noire)
      1972 | France | Laughs: 6.6 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A rogue section of the French secret service is made to believe that an innocent violinist (Pierre Richard) is a dangerous super-spy. Can be watched more than once, but not for the laughs, as the movie is more sweet than it is funny. (Last viewed: Nov 1997 September 2011)

More About The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe

The Return of the Tall Blond Man (Le Retour du Grand Blond)
      1974 | France | Laughs: 6.6 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The tall blond is now hired by the secret service and asked to play the role of super-spy to foil the efforts of a nosy cop. Perhaps funnier than the original, though not as strong a movie overall. (Last viewed: September 2011)

More About The Return of the Tall Blond Man:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for The Return of the Tall Blond Man

French Fried Vacation 2 (Les Bronzés font du Ski)
      1979 | France | Laughs: 6.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Not high art but definitely worth a watch because it works, and you will laugh. The original Les Bronzés (literally, The Tanned Ones) may be a better movie, but it has fewer laughs. (Last viewed: July 2009)

More About French Fried Vacation 2:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for French Fried Vacation 2

Nothing to Declare (Rien à Déclarer)
      2010 | France | Laughs: 6.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

On the border between Belgium and France, a French guard is in love with the sister of a Belgian colleague, who harbors a deep hatred for the French. There are enough laughs to keep you watching, but the sub-plots are weak and the cast unequal. The Belgian guard's anger is loud, ugly and certainly not comical. Dany Boon balances him and makes the movie worth watching once. (Last viewed: October 2012)

More About Nothing to Declare:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Nothing to Declare

The Gendarme Gets Married (Le Gendarme se Marie)
      1968 | France | Laughs: 6.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

In this sequel to The Policeman from Saint-Tropez, against the same backdrop of the French riviera, the gendarme and a high-society lady fall in love. When I find myself chuckling all by myself, that's a sign that a movie is funny. This cute movie might be as funny as the original—I'm not sure as I watched them one year apart. If you watch them back to back, let me know. (Last viewed: September 2012)

More About The Gendarme Gets Married:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for The Gendarme Gets Married