Le Derrière (1999)
Directed by Valérie Lemercier

Film Review

After having established herself as a popular and talented actress (probably best known for her role in the 1993 film Les Visiteurs) Valérie Lemercier turned to directing with this entertaining light comedy, in which she also, as you might expect, takes the lead role. It is a film in the 'quest' line in which the heroine Frédérique's search for her missing father turns into a search for her own identity. In her dual quest,  Frédérique must undergo a frantic series of changes of identity, alternating between an attractive young woman and a camp young man, in her attempt to please her father and her boyfriend.

Le Derrière intelligently reveals the folly of traditional prejudices towards gay men, and also towards women, and manages to end with a convincing albeit trite finale (Frédérique's own show-stopping 'coming-out' session) which basically says people should always be what they are and not try to be something they are not. It's a pretty hackneyed punchline, but Lemercier just about gets away with it.

Although this is a fair directoral debut for Lemercier, the film is not without its faults.  The comedy, whilst natural and quite amusing in places, often feels contrived and stale.  Some of the stereotypes are just a little too familiar and some of the jokes too hackneyed (the socks down the underpants gag, for example).  Claude Rich and Dieudonné (a popular comic performer who later fell from grace on account of his outspoken racial views) make the unlikeliest couple imaginable but their sympathetic performances help to compensate for the abundant script shortcomings. Le Derrière is somewhat let down by its apparent lack of direction and a weak ending but, for all that, it makes an entertaining divertissement. Lemercier would achieve better results with her next directorial offering, Palais royal! (2005).

Film Synopsis

After the death of her mother, Frédérique resolves to find her father, whom she has never met.  She discovers the identity of her father on the back of an old photograph and sets out for Paris where he now lives.  She is staying with some gay friends when she is persuaded to dress up as a gay man so that she can accompany them to a gay club. Frédérique later uses the same disguise when she discovers that her father is gay and is living with a younger, black man, hoping that her father will be more likely to accept a lost gay son than a lost straight daughter.  To complicate matters, Frédérique is simultaneously dating her boyfriend...