Synopsis
A party of French holidaymakers arrive at a holiday club on the Ivory Coast in Africa,
intent on making the most of their new-found freedom. The main concern for
most of these energetic pleasure-seekers is to sleep with as many members of the opposite
sex as is physically possible in a week. This is to the benefit of Popeye, the sports
organiser, whose good looks make him an easy conquest for the women holidaymakers.
For the male half of the party, it proves a little harder to satisfy their needs, as Jerôme
and Jean-Claude amply demonstrate. Meanwhile, Bernard is taken aback when his wife
Nathalie freely admits she has already been putting it about...
© filmsdefrance.com 2012
© filmsdefrance.com 2012
Review / Analysis
A popular comedy which has become a major cult classic in France, Les Bronzés
has an indefinable charm which makes it easy to overlook its shortcomings. The
film was written and performed by that talented comedy troupe, L’Équipe du Splendid,
who achieved fame and notoriety in France in the late 1970s for their new, uninhibited
form of comedy.
Les Bronzés is really nothing more than a series of comic sketches, shot in a beautiful exotic location. It was intended to satirise the new craze for Club Med-style holidays, whose main attraction was (as the film’s title song proclaims) a combination of sun, sea and sex – the emphasis being distinctly on the latter.
For many it will come as a surprise that the film was directed by Patrice Leconte – a surprise because it is a much lighter, more trivial affair than the kind of film Leconte is now most associated with (Le Mari de la coiffeuse, Monsieur Hire, etc.)
Although Les Bronzés doesn’t really add up to much, it is exceedingly funny in places and features some delightful comedy, notably from Michel Blanc and Thierry Lhermitte. The film’s success resulted in a very similar sequel, Les Bronzés font du ski.
© James Travers 2003
Write a review for this film...
Les Bronzés is really nothing more than a series of comic sketches, shot in a beautiful exotic location. It was intended to satirise the new craze for Club Med-style holidays, whose main attraction was (as the film’s title song proclaims) a combination of sun, sea and sex – the emphasis being distinctly on the latter.
For many it will come as a surprise that the film was directed by Patrice Leconte – a surprise because it is a much lighter, more trivial affair than the kind of film Leconte is now most associated with (Le Mari de la coiffeuse, Monsieur Hire, etc.)
Although Les Bronzés doesn’t really add up to much, it is exceedingly funny in places and features some delightful comedy, notably from Michel Blanc and Thierry Lhermitte. The film’s success resulted in a very similar sequel, Les Bronzés font du ski.
© James Travers 2003
Write a review for this film...
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Related links
- The best French comedies
- The best French films of the 1970s
- Best French films of 2011
- The best 100 French films
Credits
- Director: Patrice Leconte
- Script: L’ Equipe du Splendid, Josiane Balasko, Michel Blanc, Marie-Anne Chazel, Christian Clavier, Gérard Jugnot, Dominique Lavanant, Thierry Lhermitte, Bruno Moynot, Patrice Leconte
- Photo: Jean-François Robin
- Music: Michel Bernholc
- Cast: Josiane Balasko (Nathalie Morin), Luis Rego (Bobo), Marie-Anne Chazel (Gigi), Michel Blanc (Jean-Claude Dusse), Martin Lamotte (Miguel), Bruno Moynot (Gilbert Sellman), Gérard Jugnot (Bernard Morin), Michel Creton (Bourseault), Thierry Lhermitte (Popeye), Dominique Lavanant (Christiane), Christian Clavier (Docteur Jerome Tarere), Guy Laporte (Marcus, chef du village), Mirella Rancelot (Fille de cuisine), Michel Such (Gros homme), Doris Thomas (Frau Schmidt), Greta Vlietinck (Allemande), Yvon Brexel (Cuisine), John Pepper (The Italian guy), Pascale Deneu, Marion Lanez, Sylvie Obry, Patricia Raux, Suzanne Wahlgren
- Country: France
- Language: French
- Support: Color (Eastmancolor)
- Runtime: ?
- Aka: French Fried Vacation
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Comedy 










