Tanguy (2001)

'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.

And charm. Or maybe it's just my sense of humor. Or maybe just not very likeable character (Eric Berger). Or to predictable and in some places sci-fi story. A too lovable parents one day and hostile the next day. Very unlikeable, don't you think? Beside that, this movie is full of already seen comic elements which leads to some boring moments. European movies normally has it's charm and there are some great French comedies in the market, sadly this one isn't one of them, and that's why only3 out of 10.

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.

Saw this one recently and found the subject matter quite interesting, namely a 28 year old boy who doesn't want to leave the comfort of his parents' home. However hard they try to get him to leave he just won't go ! The film is a bit long and the idea wears itself out a bit by the end but the film is guaranteed to make you laugh ........... unless of course you have a child like Tangu !I didn't see the relevance of the "Asia" element but presumably it was added in an effort to give "spice" to the film. Whatever the case, the acting is first rate and I think the film should in the coming months gain worldwide renown ( if indeed it is diffused in other countries than France ). If you've seen Tatie Danielle by the same cineast (Chatiliez) the caustic humour of this film is similar to that. Quite an original style and worth seeing !