La Cuisine au beurre (1963) - film review

A former prisoner-of-war, Fernand Jouvin has spent the last 20 years living in Austria with his attentive girlfriend Gerda.  However, when Gerda’s husband returns from Siberia, Fernand has no choice but to return to his home in northern France.  Arriving home, he is surprised to find that his wife, Christiane, has married her head cook, André and that his demotic bar-café has been transformed into an exclusive gourmet restaurant.  The only solution is for Christiane to get Fernand to agree to a divorce.  Fernand agrees, until he gets into a fierce row with André...

Two French comic legends, Fernandel and Bourvil, are united in this light comic farce, assuming their real life names for the parts they play in the film.   Although less successful than the Bourvil-de Funès pairing in later films, the casting works well, Fernandel’s easy-going personality sparring Bourvil’s hyperactivity and vulnerable sensitivity to great comic effect.

In fact, the film relies almost entirely on its lead comic actors for its success.  The plot is rambling, the dialogue is contrived and some of the film’s most memorable comic situations appear cumbersome and overly theatrical.  In spite of all that, Bourvil and Fernandel bring something approaching magic to the film, making this a heart-warming light comedy which will appeal to many.

Although barely remembered outside of his native France, Gilles Grangier directed a number of popular French films in the 1950s and 1960s.  La cuisine au beurre was one of his most successful films, with over 6 million ticket sales in France.

© James Travers 2001

Write a review for this film...

What do you think of this film?