Hold-Up (1985) - film review

Criminal genius Grimm devises a seemingly foolproof plan to rob the Montreal Central Bank.  By disguising himself as a clown and passing off his accomplices Georges and Lise as two of the hostages, he manages to smuggle two million dollars out of the bank without anyone noticing.  The get-away proves to be somewhat more difficult though…

Director Alexandre Arcady had three notable successes under his belt (includng the box office hit Le Grand Pardon, 1982) by the time he came to direct this big budget action comedy featuring iconic actor Jean-Paul Belmondo.  The film is based on a novel, “Quick Change” by the American writer Jay Cronley, adapted by the popular screenwriter Francis Veber at Belmondo’s suggestion. The North American urban setting was considered to be so pivotal to the story that the production team quickly decided on the location – Montreal, the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec.  Not only does the setting give the film its glossy, “very American” look, but it allows a number of ambitious action stunts to be incorporated into the narrative, and if there’s one thing an audience expects of a Belmondo film it’s plenty of action stunts.

Hold-up is something of a film of two halves.  The first half is played mainly for laughs and looks like a classic French send-up of an American caper movie.  This centres around a grotesque parody of a bank robbery which turns into a battle of wits between an apparently unhinged crook (Belmondo at his wackiest) and an increasingly frantic cop (Jean-Pierre Marielle at his best).  Veber’s witty dialogue provides a bountiful supply of gags in this part of the film, and Arcady directs the film with flair, striking a perfect balance between off-the-wall comedy and crime-based action.

With the crazy (and rather ingenious) robbery out of the way, there follows a long and pretty aimless get-away sequence which lasts for the best part of an hour.  It’s at this point you need the pop-corn, or at least a big dose of caffeine.  With all the best ideas out of the bag, the film now degenerates to the level of a mediocre cops and robbers show – there are plenty of action stunts and an awful lot of running around, but less plot than you could write in longhand on the back of a Lilliputian postage stamp.  Fortunately, Veber’s penchant for comedy keeps the laughs coming, and the scenes with Jacques Villeret are particularly memorable (if only for their coy vulgarity).  Hold-up may not be Jean-Paul Belmondo’s best film, but, despite its rambling second half and a few silly digressions, it is still a fairly enjoyable romp which no fan of Bébel can resist.

© James Travers 2007

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