Film Review
Tendre voyou is typical of the
kind of silly lightweight comedy that was made in the 1960s, a
star-studded nonsensical romp that looked as though it was scripted
during a five minute coffee break and which allowed the lead actor(s)
free reign to indulge their worst excesses. Whilst by no means
the worst example of its kind,
Tendre
voyou is hardly the most sophisticated of French film comedies.
The film managed to attract an audience of two million in France,
a disappointing result given its lavish budget and the fact it featured the most popular French actor of the day,
Jean-Paul Belmondo. (Two years
previously, the actor had drawn an audience of nearly five million
with
L'Homme de Rio).
This was Belmondo's third and last collaboration with director Jean
Becker, following
Un nommé La Rocca (1961)
and
Échappement libre
(1964). By this time, Jean-Paul Belmondo had become one of the biggest film stars in France
and had an ego to match, something that presented an insuperable
challenge for the inexperienced Becker. Belmondo's penchant for
tomfoolery doesn't so much spill onto the screen as absolutely floods
it, and the film suffers badly as a result.
Tendre voyou would have been a
mediocre comedy without the lead actor's horrendous grimaces and
gesticulations - the plot is a ramshackle mess and Becker directs it
with as much verve and inspiration as though it were a life insurance
commercial. To give him his due, Belmondo does at least
manage to keep the humour mill running at full tilt but his attempts
to emulate Buster Keaton and other comedy giants fall flat on virtually
every occasion. Despite some spirited contributions from the
distinguished supporting artistes (both Philippe Noiret and Robert
Morley escape with their reputations intact and Geneviève Page
gives us at least one decent laugh),
Tendre
voyou is a tedious run-around that isn't so much funny as
embarrassing, one of Belmondo's weaker films.
© James Travers 2011
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Jean Becker film:
L'Été meurtrier (1983)
Film Synopsis
When he loses his job as a chauffeur, Tony Maréchal decides to
live off the wealthy women who succumb so easily to his seductive
charms. His adventure begins with Muriel, the beautiful young
mistress of successful businessman Gabriel Dumonceaux. Mistaking
Tony for Muriel's cousin, Dumonceaux coaxes him into joining him and
his wife Béatrice on a skiing holiday. Béatrice
Dumonceaux cannot resist Tony and the young gigolo soon finds himself
at the tender mercies of both Dumonceaux's mistress and his wife.
He is rescued by the Baroness von Strasshofer, a rich widow with an
insatiable appetite for eligible young men. Tony and his best
friend Bob soon find themselves on the baroness's yacht, in the company
of such eminent individuals as the speculator Lord Edouard Swift.
When he is not being mauled by the baroness, Tony gets to know a young
heiress, Véronique, who is on her way to Tahiti to recover her
father's inheritance. Tony decides to help Véronique, not
knowing that she is a bigger con artist than he could ever
be...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.