OK patron (1974)
Directed by Claude Vital

Film Review

Jacques Dutronc's acting career got off to a flying start in 1973 when he co-starred alongside François Périer in Jean-Marie Périer's Antoine et Sébastien.  By this time, Dutronc was firmly established as one of France's leading pop musicians, having made a spectacular breakthrough in 1966 with his hit record Et moi, et moi, et moi.  Helped by his ultra-smooth persona and saturnine good looks, Dutronc had no trouble finding his feet as an actor, and it was in his second film, OK patron, that his potential as a major film star became evident.  Immediately after this, the Polish filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski cast him alongside Romy Schneider in L'Important c'est d'aimer (1975), in a role that left no doubt as to Dutronc's talent as an actor.

Jacques Dutronc not only takes the lead in OK patron, admirably well-cast in a fish-out-of-water role as a reluctant gangster boss, he also supplied the film's catchy music, including its famous theme song L'Aventurier, which evokes the mood of the era superbly and was subsequently released as a single.  Dutronc's charismatic presence enlivens what would otherwise have been a humdrum, formulaic comedy in the comédie policière line, a genre that had had its heyday in the 1960s but which was, by the mid-1970s, looking decidedly démodé and over-worn.

OK patron was directed, with surprising flair, by first-timer Claude Vital, easily the best of the handful of pretty nondescript films he made around this time.  Prior to this, Vital had worked as an assistant to Georges Lautner on some of his most popular films, including such classic comedy-thrillers as Le Monocle noir (1961), Les Tontons flingueurs (1963) and Ne nous fâchons pas (1966).  Lautner is credited as acting as supervisor on OK patron, and judging by Vital's subsequent disappointing output, it looks as if he may have had quite a large amount of creative input.

If the plot feels at times like reheated leftovers, a distinguished cast do their best to keep us amused and exorcise the uneasy sense of déjà-vu that occasionally surfaces.  The perfect complement to Jacques Dutronc, Mireille Darc makes a delectably elegant gangster's moll, effortlessly proving she can hold her own in a man's world, getting her way by exercising her feminine charms instead of resorting to idiotic violence.  Another comparative newcomer to the big screen, Axelle Abbadie makes her mark in another strong female role, with veteran performer Renée Saint-Cyr completing a triumvirate of talented actresses playing cool and collected females who are not remotely phased by the infantile antics of gun-toting hoodlums.  The ever-present Francis Blanche is on hand to lend some comedy muscle, leading a supporting cast that includes many faces that will be familiar to any devotee of the French comedy thriller: André Pousse, Robert Dalban, Paul Préboist, Daniel Ceccaldi, Dominique Zardi and (in a cameo role) Michel Constantin.

OK patron offers few surprises and, held back by a lacklustre script, stands no chance of ever becoming a classic.  Tame and predictable it may be, but it still manages to be a moderately entertaining timewaster, carried by the likeable ensemble of actors who do their utmost to make it work.  The mise-en-scène shows the occasional inspired flourish as it humorously references French and American gangster films of the period, most notably Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, of which this is a loose parody of sorts.  It's definitely not the best film of its kind, but it's well worth seeing, if only to catch a glimpse of an implausibly youthful Jacques Dutronc at the start of his long and illustrious acting career.

Film Synopsis

When Mario, the head of the French Mafia, is mortally wounded by his enemies, his mistress Mélissa immediately sets about finding a successor, unaware that a host of hardened gangsters are poised to take over his organisation.  The man Mélissa selects to replace Mario is a mild-mannered door-to-door salesman, Léon Bonnet, who makes a modest living by selling religious crosses.  Just as Léon is about to get married to Sophie, he begins receiving a series of unexpected parcels through the post - first a consignment of champagne, then a box filled with firearms.  Before he knows what is happening, Léon is ensconced as the head of France's largest criminal gang, with a hoard of trigger-happy rivals determined to unseat him...