Albert est méchant (2004)
Directed by Hervé Palud

Film Review

This lowbrow family comedy gets off to a promising start but within a matter of minutes its failings become all too apparent.  The plot is instantly predictable and rapidly degenerates into a rather silly routine comedy, with the film's three stars - Clavier, Dombasle and Serrault - dropping lazily into their stereotypical character grooves.   Like many of Hervé Palud's earlier films - for example, the risible Un indien dans la ville (1994) - the comic situations are so idiotic and contrived, the characterisation so hackneyed and shallow, that the whole ghastly thing is viscerally painful to watch.

Film Synopsis

On hearing of the death of his father, the famous writer Jo Lechat, Patrick assumes that he will automatically inherit his vast fortune.  Imagine his surprise then when he learns that the sole beneficiary of his father's estate is his half-brother Albert Moulinot, an eccentric old man who lives alone on a little island in the very heart of Dordogne.  Patrick is desperate to lay his hands on some money so he pays a visit to Albert in the hope of trying to get him to part with a portion of his lucky windfall.  It turns out that the old man has absolutely no interest in the money and is more than willing to hand it all over to Patrick, providing they make the journey to Paris together so that they can deal with all the legal formalities.  It sounds too good to be true, but for Patrick the nightmare is only just beginning...