Film Review
L'Étalon starts out
from quite a decent premise but rather than deliver the anticipated
caustic assault on the consumer society Jean-Pierre Mocky merely serves
up a rambling unfunny comedy that is unceasingly crass and
infantile. In the last of the four comedies that he made with
Mocky, Bourvil looks distinctly worse for wear - not surprisingly, as
he was seriously ill whilst making the film and died just seven months
after the film's original release in February 1970. Although
Mocky credits the idea for the film to Bourvil, the actor was reluctant
to appear in it and did so only to allay fears that he was at death's
door (which he was). To share the comedy burden, another comedy
heavyweight was drafted in - Francis Blanche - but even this is not
enough to relieve the tedium of a film that is short on ideas and
mostly repeats the same handful of tacky gags ad nauseum. Only
the sight of Michel Lonsdale in drag makes the film worth watching.
If you want to see Bourvil at his best in a Jean-Pierre Mocky film
you'd be better off watching
Un drôle de paroissien
(1963) and
La Grande frousse (1964).
© James Travers 2015
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Jean-Pierre Mocky film:
Solo (1970)
Film Synopsis
William Chaminade would hardly have thought of himself as a great benefactor
of the female sex, but this is what he becomes, thanks to a chance incident
during his well-deserved holiday in the south of France. It begins
when this mild-mannered vet witnesses a young woman's attempt to commit suicide
by throwing herself out of an upstairs window in the hotel where he is dining.
The woman's life is saved by a muscular athlete named Lionel, who just happens
to be there to break her fall. She explains that she was driven to
this desperate act by her neglectful husband, who no longer shows her any
interest. It is then that Chaminade has his revolutionary brainwave.
All over France, there must hundreds, possibly thousands of women who are
in a similar state, driven to suicidal despair because their husbands are
unable or unwilling to satisfy their romantic needs. Chaminade has
the solution: he will offer a special service where a stud - namely Lionel
- will be provided to give these unfortunate women the attentions they so
desperately crave. And what is more, the service will be free, paid
for by the state! The idea turns out to be a runaway success, and Chaminade
has no end of women clients willing to avail themselves of his highly innovative
form of recreational therapy.
Our hero soon runs into difficulty, however, when an over-eager tax inspector
named Dupuis shows up and starts showing too keen an interest in Chaminade's
highly lucrative business venture. Before he knows it, the former vet
is being hounded by a police superintendent and the husbands of all of the
wives he has been sedulously treating. In the face of mounting opposition,
it seems that Chaminade's enterprise is doomed to failure, but an unexpected
sudden change in the law comes to his rescue. By attending to the needs
of both husbands and wives, Chaminade discovers a way to make conjugal disunity
a thing of the past...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.