Laisse aller, c'est une valse (1971)
Directed by Georges Lautner

Film Review

Having made some pretty respectable thrillers - such Le Pacha (1968) - Georges Lautner returned to the genre for which he best known, the decidedly off-the-wall comedy-thriller. Laisse aller, c'est une valse attempts to follow the winning formula of Lautner's previous hits, Les Tontons flinguers (1963) and Ne nous fâchons pas (1966) but doesn't quite pull it off, although not for want of trying.

There's a great deal to like about this film - an excellent cast, some very witty dialogue and possibly the most hilarious love-making scene in French cinema - but there's also a lot to be irked by.  Here, the parody has generated into mad comic book caricature, with cardboard villains (which are disposed of all to easily), an absurd English teacher (a part that should have been given to a genuine English actor!), and a plot that scrambles all over the place, resorting to some extremely silly Benny Hill style buffoonery to kick the film back to life when it has just about lost all of its momentum.

For all its faults, though, the film does deliver some very decent laughs, and the pairing of Jean Yanne with the lovely Mireille Darc (which was last attempted by Jean-Luc Godard in his 1967 film Week End) works a treat, a case of contrasting personalities (just how many misogynistic obscenities can Jean Yanne deliver in one breath?) hitting just the right note.  There are also some fine contributions from Bernard Blier and Michel Constantin, two of the most familiar faces in French thrillers.  Also, watch out for Coluche in one of his earliest film appearances.

Notably, the film was scripted by Bertrand Blier, who would go on to pursue a successful, and controversial career as a director.  The film is more recognisably Blier's work than Lautner's - there's the familiar oddball trio (here played by Yanne, Darc and Constantin), the anarchistic black comedy (illustrated by an outrageously high body count), and vicious satirical comments by the bucket load.  Admittedly, the parody thriller is not the best vehicle for Blier's brand of anti-establishment, politically incorrect comedy, but the Blier-Lautner mélange is an interesting one, the kind of marriage of “obviously” incompatible souls that so typifies Blier's cinema.

Film Synopsis

Notorious crook Serge Aubin has served three years in prison for his part in a jewel theft.  No sooner has he been released than he is abducted by a rival gang, led by Varèse.  Whilst the latter are torturing Aubin to get him to reveal where he has hidden the stolen jewels, his friend Michel comes to his rescue.  Aubin's only thought is to to take his revenge on the woman that betrayed him to the police before moving in with Varèse - his wife, Carla...