Very frustrating, this movie by Stéphane Kazandjian. On the one hand, the writer-director did quite a good job at describing, through the actions and words of his main character Michel Ganiant, the ways of too many of today's entrepreneurs, those whose main objective is not to identify the consumer's needs, to invest, to find markets and launch products but to make as much money and acquire as much power as possible, whatever the social and human cost of their decisions. Ganiant is the perfect embodiment of such predators, of what is now commonly called the "uninhibited capitalist", casual and easy to talk to (provided you do not go into detail), but actually a shameless and ruthless shark who will do anything to achieve his goals. In this particular case, you will see Ganiant lie, betray, manipulate, blackmail, cheat, play dirty tricks, corrupt, launch a hostile takeover bid and too many others to list. This uncompromising portrayal of the excesses of finance by someone who has good knowledge of the issue assuredly makes this aspect of the film more than satisfactory. And yet I would not call "Moi Michel G." as a whole a success. Well, it could have been one but only if Kazandjian had chosen the form of a documentary or at least of a drama. Unfortunately it is a comedy the director aimed at making and it is in this field that he nearly totally flops. The tone, for example, should be much more caustic for the satire to bite home. The confrontation between the leftist reporter who follows Ganiant for a year should also be more fiery to really rock the boat. Likewise, François-Xavier Demaison (who was excellent as Coluche in the film of the same title though) should show much more charisma as Ganiant to spice things up. By remaining too matter-of-fact I am afraid Kazandjian just causes after gag to fizzle. "Moi, Michel Ganiant, maître du monde" is in no way a shameful movie. It does provide an interesting look on the financial world. But the trouble is that a comedy should not be only interesting, it should BE FUNNY before anything else.
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