Safari (2009)
Directed by Olivier Baroux

Film Review

Olivier Baroux's second directorial outing, after Ce soir je dors chez toi (2007), is no more inspiring than his first, a lumbering animal-themed comedy that has as much mileage as a clapped out Morris Minor, and offers even fewer laughs.  In spite of the talented cast, which includes Baroux's comedy sparring partner Kad Merad, the jokes (if they can be described as such) are crass and predictable, the plot non-existent, and the characters so lacking in depth and interest value that not one of them avoids being out-staged by the cute specimens of wildlife that cross their path.  (It is hardly a commendation that the most engaging performance was supplied by a vervet monkey.)  Safari is nothing more than tedious lowbrow entertainment destined to a plug a hole in the schedules of the less discriminating French TV channels.  God only knows how this avalanche of dross managed to attract an audience of two million in France.  How could such a fine comic actor as Olivier Baroux produce such a dismal comedy?

Film Synopsis

It has been thirty years since Richard Dacieris last set foot in the wilds of Africa, but here he is again, acting as a guide for an odd assortment of tourists who are keen to discover the natural wonders of the Dark Continent.  It promises to be an eventful safari, for two reasons.  First, one of the tourists is not who he seems - he was been foisted on the guide by a gangster boss for his own dubious reasons.  Second, and perhaps more important, Richard is absolutely terrified of animals.  In fact on this occasion his manic phobia of African fauna - especially those of a carnivorous persuasion - may prove to be the death of him and his unwitting entourage...