Et la tendresse?... Bordel! (1979)
Directed by Patrick Schulmann

Film Review

This slightly raunchy sex comedy has acquired the status of a cult classic, partly on account of its exuberant comicbook humour, but most probably because of the memorable contributions from much-loved actors Jean-Luc Bideau and Bernard Giraudeau, who are at their funniest here. (The film also features Anne-Marie Philipe, the daughter of the legendary French actor Gérard Philipe.)  Et la tendresse?... Bordel! is one of the more enjoyable of the mapcap comedies (most of which were outright turkeys) that somehow had massive appeal to mainstream French cinema audiences in the 1970s and '80s.

Whilst some of the jokes now appear hideously dated and others are just frankly weird (where else would you be confronted with the surreal spectacle of a circulating penis?), the film has retained some of its boisterous yippie charm and still offers plenty of good laughs.  Encouraged by the success of this film (it attracted an audience of 3.4 million in France), its director, Patrick Schulmann, made a sequel entitled Zig Zag Story (Aka: Et la tendresse?... Bordel! N° 2), released in 1983. Schulmann's other films include the equally eccentric Rendez-moi ma peau... (1980) and lively classroom comedy P.R.O.F.S. (1985) starring Patrick Bruel and Fabrice Luchini, another box office hit.

Film Synopsis

Three couples from three different backgrounds have three very different ideas about romance.  Businessman François, the master seducer and man of power, regards women as mere objects to satisfy his over-inflated libido, a situation which his partner Carole accepts with resignation.  Luc and Eva appear to be in a stable relationship - he spends his days interviewing people for surveys, she works in a psychiatric clinic - and their time together at home is warm and affectionate.  Léo, an aspiring lawyer, and Julie, a shop assistant, are attracted towards one another but each finds it hard to make the first move - until their shyness yields to the needs of desire.  Will any of the couples live happily ever after?