3 hommes et un couffin (1985) - film review

Pierre, Jacques and Michel are three free-living bachelors who share a luxury flat in Paris.  Their routine is abruptly disrupted when a baby girl is deposited on their door step.  Whilst Pierre, the unwitting father, enjoys a three week holiday in Thailand, his flatmates are left holding the fort, taking turns to look after the baby.  To complicate matters, they then receive another strange package – a parcel containing hard drugs…

Now better known as the film which was remade into the American 1987 chart topper “3 Men and a Baby”, Trois hommes et un couffin is both poignant and funny satire about fatherhood, and is one of the most successful films ever made in France.

Although the plot is virtually identical to the American remake, the French treatment is noticeably different and probably would not suit an American audience.  When the film starts, the arrival of the baby is a cause for bitter acrimony, heated arguments and intense discomfort for the three bachelors.  Yet, despite this, the three men soon become attached to the infant and even end up arguing with each other over who should attend to her.  It is this emotional intensity which gives this film far, far more credibility and impact than the American version, which sacrifices believability for some cheap gags.

Although the French film has some terrific comic situations, the humour does not undermine the real-life drama which is the film’s main focus.  The film is about how three hedonistic young men manage to cope with the obligations of fatherhood.  Served by three magnificent performances from its three lead actors, the film shows how the arrival of a child can completely change their lives and their behaviour, calling into question assumptions about the role of men in child raising.

With typically French subtlety, and with the minimum of sentimentality, Trois hommes et un couffin is simultaneously an engaging, funny and thought-provoking piece of cinema.

© James Travers 2001

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