San Antonio (2004)
Directed by Frédéric Auburtin

Film Review

What starts out as a promising albeit pretty wacky James Bond spoof very quickly degenerates into a tedious mélange of comedy fights, action stunts and silly sex jokes, with no real sign of a coherent plot and with characters that would be implausible in a child's strip cartoon.  The talent of Gérard Lanvin and Gérard Depardieu are totally wasted in this clumsy adaptation of Frédéric Dard's comedy-thriller novels, with both actors reduced to spouting imbecilic dialogue and trying, in vain, to make the endless stream of oral sex jokes amusing.   Hard to believe that the film was directed by Frédéric Auburtin, who previously worked with Gérard Depardieu on the thoughtful 1999 film drama, Un pont entre deux rives.

Film Synopsis

Once the secret services have woken up to the threat of a global terrorist targetting world leaders, police superintendent San Antonio and his faithful assistant Bérurier are assigned to keep a watchful eye on the French ambassador during a stay at a British palace.  Needless-to-say, the ambassador in question is whisked away by kidnappers in front of their very eyes and San Antonio is promptly called back to Paris, to be relieved of his duties by a far from pleased chief of police.  This is to the advantage of Bérurier, who takes over the case, just as things take a sudden and dramatic turn for the worse.

The sudden disappearance of the French president is a grand coup that not even the security services had anticipated.  In the resulting panic, San Antonio is hastily summoned by the Minister of the Interior and tasked with finding the President, with instructions that he must act alone and in secret.  When working together, San Antonio and Bérurier were never the most effective of crime-fighting teams.  How will things work out now that they are effectively rivals, each determined to prove himself - in the face of a very dangerous and powerful adversary...?