There are going to be spoilers, so readers beware...
A professional chauffeur discovers that he has won a fortune on the races. He quits his job with glee, but gets killed a mere minute later in a drive-by attack. His boss, an old business tycoon, walks away shocked and saddened. He does not yet know that he, too, has but hours to live...
This is a comedy with a distinguished pedigree. Simply watch the list of names, on imdb, about the various creators and collaborators : it's a recommendation in itself. Yet I did not feel all that moved, charmed, entertained, in spite of a few laughs here and there. This is a watchable and somewhat amusing movie, but not a shining pearl in the rich crown of French comedy.
I don't know what exactly went wrong, but I suppose it's got something to do with the fact that it is hard to root for the two main characters. The actors playing both of these roles do well enough, but what's to like in a ruthless business shark ? And what's to like in a chauffeur who is not only a serial adulterer and philanderer, but also a drugs dealer ? Near the end of the movie both men, whose "phantoms" had been stuck in some kind of purgatory, receive an approving nod. As a result they can continue to paradise, or to a higher plane of being. One does not need to be an expert in comparative religions in order to realize that quite a lot of religions would expect people like that to be damned, in one way or another. It's hard to think of many fully adult philosophical systems that would allow or praise such behaviour, too.
Still, both Jugnot and Noiret do their best, and there are some decent gags here and there. The special effects are well-done, including a remarkable sequence set inside a video game about an Egyptian temple.
A professional chauffeur discovers that he has won a fortune on the races. He quits his job with glee, but gets killed a mere minute later in a drive-by attack. His boss, an old business tycoon, walks away shocked and saddened. He does not yet know that he, too, has but hours to live...
This is a comedy with a distinguished pedigree. Simply watch the list of names, on imdb, about the various creators and collaborators : it's a recommendation in itself. Yet I did not feel all that moved, charmed, entertained, in spite of a few laughs here and there. This is a watchable and somewhat amusing movie, but not a shining pearl in the rich crown of French comedy.
I don't know what exactly went wrong, but I suppose it's got something to do with the fact that it is hard to root for the two main characters. The actors playing both of these roles do well enough, but what's to like in a ruthless business shark ? And what's to like in a chauffeur who is not only a serial adulterer and philanderer, but also a drugs dealer ? Near the end of the movie both men, whose "phantoms" had been stuck in some kind of purgatory, receive an approving nod. As a result they can continue to paradise, or to a higher plane of being. One does not need to be an expert in comparative religions in order to realize that quite a lot of religions would expect people like that to be damned, in one way or another. It's hard to think of many fully adult philosophical systems that would allow or praise such behaviour, too.
Still, both Jugnot and Noiret do their best, and there are some decent gags here and there. The special effects are well-done, including a remarkable sequence set inside a video game about an Egyptian temple.
