Recto / Verso (1999)
Directed by Jean-Marc Longval

Film Review

Like the majority of gay-themed films made in the 1990s, this wacky French comedy now feels grotesquely caricatured and dated.   It stars Smaïn, a little-known actor who does little to engage the sympathy of his audience (his persona is that of a yuppie from the 1980s) - and indeed there is hardly a likeable character in the entire film, apart from Michel Muller's downtrodden Fernandel-like Joël.   However, whilst the storyline is a mess, there are some decent jokes, even if the comic situations are by and large repetitive and a tad facile, relying far too heavily on the familiar gay stereotypes.

Film Synopsis

Fred finds himself in financial difficulty when he loses his well-paid job as a television presenter.  His only hope of saving himself and his mother from a life of poverty is to accept an offer of work from a popular gay shopping channel.  When it becomes apparent that his boss has romantic designs on him, Fred has to resort to desperate measures to keep his job and safeguard his masculinity.  Fortunately, his cousin Joël has just turned up in town and is sure to help him out in his hour of need.  Fred's plan is to persuade Joël to pass himself off as his boyfriend.  It sounds like a good idea at first, but things soon get out of hand as one misunderstanding leads to another, massively complicating the love lives of everyone involved...