Certains l’aiment... froide (1960) - film review

On his death-bed in 1759, the Marquis de Valmorin writes his will, leaving his vast fortune not to his children but to his descendents in 200 years’ time.  In 1959, the possible beneficiaries of the will learn that the entire estate will pass to the one who has an incurable illness.  Unfortunately, they all appear to be in the rudest of health...

Despite one or two good plot ideas, a handful of amusing comic situations (including a brilliant cellulite gag) and a very cheeky title (a pun on the French re-title of Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot – Certains l’aiment chaud), this is pretty mediocre comedy which, whilst entertaining in places, doesn’t add up to much.  The thing that just about passes for a plot quickly dissolves into a chaotic series of loosely connected sketches, with the humour spread increasingly thinly as the film progresses. By the mid-point, it’s clear the writers have used up their best jokes and from there on it’s an uphill struggle.

It’s not all bad, however – the deficiencies in the script are at least partly compensated by some ebullient comedy performances.  As ever, the face-contorting genius Louis de Funès gives great entertainment value – and it’s not hard to see why he would, a few years later, become one of the top comic actors in France.  Incredible as it may seem, Fufu is very nearly out-staged by another great comedian, the popular and (thankfully) unique Francis Blanche in what is almost certainly his most outrageously over-the-top performance – and quite possibly one of the most outrageous film performances ever .  In fact there’s no shortage of nutcases in this film. Some of the supporting cast give even Blanche a pretty good run for his money in the lunatics-are-us league.

© James Travers 2007

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