La Chèvre (1981)

With actors like Depardieu and Richard it is really a hard task to make a dull movie. But Weber is a master in setting a slow pace and making supposedly funny scenes without any wits and depth. This movie is high on story but low on character. You never get to know any of the characters except for superficial slapstick. Unfortunately Weber has no idea what slapstick is all about. His style could be described at hit and miss. Of course some people laugh when they see someone slip on a banana peel. Weber directs his humor at this lot. It is a shame how bad he uses good talent. Many good french comedians have been wasted away by mediocre directors.

I saw this movie back in 1982 when I was about 12 years old. I couldn't stop laughing. Another 12 years later I finally got the VHS... I thought I wasn't going to find it so funny because I was 24 years old, but I laughed even more!.. And keep laughing to this day. The film must have been so successful that this trio (Veber/Depardieu/Richard) made 2 more movies afterward, all of them equally funny. The way the director generates humor from everyday situations, shows a keen sense of observation and a capacity for caricature of the ridiculous in human nature. If one manages to abstract from the fact that it is not exactly a recent movie and if one concentrates on the humor of the situations, attitudes, face expressions, etc... One will easily realize that it is not needed to behave like a clown, falling dressed on a swimming pool or smashing wedding cakes on someone's face... Or screaming vulgar words, to be funny. A true Golden "Oldie", and a definite must see!..

This is THE masterpiece of funniness. Trust me, the big winner trio (Depardieu, Richard and Veber) shows one more time his talent. On one hand Pignon/Richard is the unluckiest man on earth, all the things you don't even think about happen to him and on the other one there is Depardieu, a cartesian private detective who doesn't believe in fate or luck, he disagrees with these concepts. Actually, by meeting Pignon, his entire life will be turned up side down because they must work together to find Pignon's Headmaster's daughter who was kidnapped in Venezuela. The worse thing will happen to the Laurel-and-Hardy-like team. You almost die of laughing so much. This is the comedy one should have seen once, just as "the Gods must be crazy." The movie is really worth being watched.

A hilarious comedy, and justifiably a box-office smash in France, this is a must-see for fans of the two stars. Richard and Depardieu are at their best while their characters experience mishap after mishap in trying to find a businessman's daughter. Remade a decade later as "Pure Luck", this film stands as further proof that the original usually outshines the remake. Rent this film if you like to laugh.