Les Compères (1983)
Directed by Francis Veber

Film Review

After the phenomenal success of his second directorial outing, La Chèvre (1981), Francis Veber struck comedy gold a second time with another comedy with a virtually identical plot, Les Compères.  Eager to repeat the success of their earlier collaboration, Gérard Depardieu and Pierre Richard throw themselves into Veber's third feature as director with such gusto that it hardly registers that this is a somewhat lesser film, with a rambling plot consisting of mostly second-hand ideas lazily strung together with scant regard to logic or convincing character development. As in La Chèvre, Veber's lacklustre script and pretty mediocre direction are amply redeemed by the extraordinary on-screen chemistry of its two lead performers, who form what is arguably the most effective comedy partnership in French cinema so far.

Ever since his early screenwriting trumph L'Emmerdeur (1973), the comedy double act became a key ingredient of Veber's oeuvre, most of the humour deriving from the comic interplay between two wildly contrasting personalities who are the modern embodiment of the clumsy clown Auguste and his more serious white clown counterpart.  By pairing Gérard Depardieu and Pierre Richard, two actors who could scarcely be more different and yet complement one another so perfectly, Veber's well-worn concept acquires more than a touch of genius and reminds us of the great film comedy double acts of the past, notably Laurel and Hardy.

Les Compères begins by immediately setting the two actors up as rivals - each is deceived by a cutely manipulative Anny Duperey into thinking he has fathered an incredibly photogenic 17-year-old boy - but whilst there is mutual antagonism aplenty the two characters cannot help forming a strong bond of mutual dependency, in the best tradition of the classic American buddy movie.  The interaction between the accident-prone manic depressive Richard and aggressive Alpha male journalist Depardieu provides a constant stream of humour that the film mines ruthlessly.  As the relationship develops, the two central characters gradually acquire the other's characteristics - Richard becomes more ready to resort to violence (of the head-butting variety), whilst Depardieu shows a more sensitive and humane side.  In this respect, Veber gives his lead actors somewhat more to work with than on his other two collaborations with them, and they repay the compliment with performances that are easily among their best.

What makes Depardieu and Richard's shared paternal delusions all the more amusing is that neither bears the slightest resemblance to the teenager they are pursuing - a good-looker played by Stéphane Bierry in his first film appearance.  After this, Bierry would go on to have a prominent career on French television and is best known today for playing Stéphane Prieur in the popular television series Plus belle la vie.  Admittedly, Les Compères is badly let down by its hackneyed thriller motifs and a few awkward bouts of tacky sentimentality but it more than makes up for this through the unbeatable rapport of its two lead actors and a steady stream of well-judged visual and scripted gags.  Who can forget the scene in which Richard is forced to eat his own tie?

The film wasn't only a notable box office hit (attracting an audience of 4.8 million in France), it was also generally well-received by the critics and picked up two César nominations  - in the categories of Best Actor (Depardieu) and Best Original Screenplay.  As with many of Francis Veber's most popular films, it was also honoured with an American remake - Fathers' Day (1997), directed by Ivan Reitman with Robin Williams and Billy Crystal - although this isn't a patch on the original.  After the success of Les Compères, it would be another three years before Veber could reunite Gérard Depardieu and Pierre Richard for their third and final pairing, Les Fugitifs (1986).

Film Synopsis

Christine Martin, a married woman in her early forties, becomes anxious when her 17-year-old son Tristan leaves home without leaving behind any clue as to his whereabouts.  All that she knows is that he was heading towards Nice in the company of his girlfriend.  When her husband Paul's half-hearted attempts to find her son lead nowhere Christine rings up a former boyfriend, Jean Lucas, and tries to coax him into continuing the search on the understanding that Tristan is the son he never knew he had.  A thick-skinned journalist with an aggressive temperament, Lucas is uncertain how to react to this appeal for help and promptly tells Christine to stay out of his life.  Undeterred by this setback, the anxious mother then contacts another old flame, François Pignon, just at the moment when he is about to put a bullet in his head.

A chronic depressive, Pignon instantly regains his zest for living when he learns that he has fathered a son and willingly takes up the challenge of looking for the missing son.  Lucas later has a change of heart and takes up the same errand when his investigation into links between a prominent politician and a hoodlum takes him to Nice.  It isn't long before Pignon and Lucas run into one another and they agree to continue their search for Tristan together, each totally convinced that the missing teenager is his son.  As they do so, they are themselves tailed by a ruthless pair of henchmen who are determined to thwart Lucas's investigation...