Quartier V.I.P. (2005) - film review

Alex is a prison warden who carries out his duties professionally, spurning the crooked activities that some of his colleagues indulge in.   But when he is moved to a new prison, he is made an offer that he can’t refuse.  The wealthy businessman Bertrand Fussac has just been incarcerated for fraud and his wife Claire has added to his woes by stealing a large sum of money from him.  Bertrand offers Alex a fortune if he will help recover the money.  The plan is that Alex will present himself to Claire as a businessman, win her confidence, and persuade her to invest the money she has stolen in bogus investments.  Despite his scruples, Alex agrees to help Bertrand...

Quartier V.I.P. is a perfect example of the truism that a great cast does not necessarily result in a great film, bien au contraire.  The idea that you can throw a collection of well-regarded actors at a mediocre screenplay and end up with anything worth watching has been shot down spectacularly in recent years but rarely as effectively as in this tepid comedy consisting of a tiresome concoction of recycled gags and the most poorly constructed of storylines. 

The risible screenplay is made almost unbearable by the insipid direction and some appalling examples of histrionic ineptitude (the prime example being Jean-Claude Brialy’s mincing queen, enough to set your teeth on edge and cause you to choke on your own bile).  Although he is far better rated as a singer than an actor, French cultural icon Johnny Hallyday has shown in some recent films – notably Patrice Leconte’s L’Homme du train (2002) – that he does have some talent in the dramatic arena, but here he looks positively comatose, and, given the material he has to work with, who can blame him?  The only spectators who are still awake and watching by the time the closing credits roll are those with an exceptionally high boredom threshold or a dangerously high level of caffeine in their bloodstream.

© filmsdefrance.com 2009

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