Les Comperes

Customer Reviews:

Very funny at parts but kind of slapstick.......2006-01-22

I wouldn't call this a subtly witty movie, but there were times when I laughed out loud. There were other times when I thought it was predictable and the humor just too broad.

As usual, Depardieu is very funny, but Pierre Richard is equally funny. Depardieu and Richard have both been told that they are the father of a runaway teenager -- the mother figures if they think it's their kid, they'll go looking for him and bring him back. Her husband -- the kid's father - isn't doing anything. Eventually they realize they are both possibly the kid's father (or so they think) so they team up to look for him -- in Nice, where Depardieu is investigating corruption in the casinos. Depardieu is a rough newspaper reporter, whereas Richard is a depressed ex-schoolteacher, so you have the odd-couple thing going.

There's a lot of broad, tough guy humor -- cars getting vandalized, gangsters stalking Gepardieu & Richard, teenage hoodlums, fist fights, that sort of thing. But although that sort of thing isn't usually what I enjoy, some of it did make me laugh out loud.

Les Compères.......2004-02-04

Les Comprères is a must for French classrooms. Students 7th through 12th laugh hysterically at the comical duo of Depardieu and Richard!

Pleasant and funny road trip about a boy w. two dads.......2003-11-28

Fed up with his father getting on his case, Tristan Martin, age sixteen-and-a-half and a dead ringer for someone in Menudo, has run away from his home in Paris, accompanied by Shannon Doherty-lookalike Michele Raffart, to Nice. His parents, Paul and Carol, report his disappearance to the police, who don't seem to care. It's like a stolen car-the question is, when will it turn up? A visit to Michele's rough-speaking father yields nothing.

Fed up with her husband's weakness in handling the situation, Carol turns to an ex-beau from seventeen years before, Jean Lucas, a journalist whose book hinted at a connection between a prominent French senator and Rossi, the gambling kingpin of the Riviera. She tells him that Tristan is actually his son so she can get his help. He refuses because he doesn't buy her story or motives, so Carol turns to Francois Pignon, a former schoolteacher and depressive who being the romantic idealist that he is, is only so glad to be reunited with his son. "I've no job, my wife has left me, I live with my mother and hate it. I've no plans, no future, everything is scr---d up... great, isn't it?" Things get really cockeyed when Jean changes his mind, with Carol and Francois none the wiser. Jean is planning a sequel on his book, which could lead to his boss sending him a wreath.

Through circumstances, Jean and Francois are united in their perceived common quest, and we see the differences in their personalities straight off. Even before they meet Tristan or realize the connection between them, the adventurous Jean envisions Tristan as someone like himself, a little brute, strong as an ox, and a fighter, while the nurturing Francois sees Tristan as a dreamer, moody, alienated, writing poetry. Also, Jean is tough, which comes in handy when they get in trouble with the leather-clad bikers Tristan hangs out with. Francois, having just suffered a breakdown, has tendencies to cry for no apparent reason. They go to Nice in Jean's snazzy-looking BMW, at least snazzy for a while. Hint--what else does BMW stand for? And where Jean goes, trouble follows, in the form of two toughs sent by Rossi to intimidate, and later, to kill him.

One of the main things to come out of this story is that, as Francois and Jean, the latter whose fathering attitude towards Tristan comes and goes, learn, is that fatherhood must be earned. That's something that Paul, Tristan's father should have learned. His defense that he cared for him well and gave him all he wanted, well, doesn't cut the surface. There's understanding as well. And as for Tristan, he's not a bad kid, just a teenager undergoing growing pains who needed a stronger sense of understanding from his parents, and the right sort of understanding, which comes from Jean and Francois, who actually take a caring interest in him. His outing proves to develop his character.

Having seen this road trip comedy three times in one year, I can say right now it's one of my favourite French films of all time. Gerard Depardieu (Jean) is still the solid, tall, handsome box office draw that he was in France, and I feel an affinity towards curly-haired Pierre Richard (Francois), best known as "the tall blond man with one black shoe" Having seen this, I'd have wanted a father like Francois, caring, emotional, someone with feeling even if a bit too melodramatic.

An hysterical classic.......2003-02-04

Gerard Derpardieu and Pierre Richard are magic together. This film is even funnier than when they teamed up in "La chevre". There is a good reason why hollywood tried to remake this very popular film for American audiences. However, the American remake can't hold a candle to this French original.
Pierre plays the bumbling unaware despressive to comic perfection while Gerard's tough no nonsense character provides the perfect contrast resulting in a sensational comedy duo. The mismatched characters pair up to try to find a runnaway boy in hopes of finding out which of them is the rightful father. The humour lasts throughout the film and is great for adults and kids alike. This film is a classic and is known by all in France. It is a must see!

Everything in Life has Two Sides.......2002-05-26

When I first watched this film here in The Netherlands,
I thought it would just be one of those run-of-the-mill
typical overexploited tear-jerkers which you might choose
to watch if there was nothing else on television and you
have a boring long weekend ahead and nowhere to go. After
just five minutes, however, I was totally riveted.

The situation of a ex-hippy-type mom, properly married now,
whose teenage son ran away from home, may not be all that new,
but the manner which she uses to find him is comically unique.
She contacts two ex-lovers (from the hippy period of her life,
you understand), tells them, during separate lunches, that the
boy is theirs, and in this way inspires both of them to help her
locate him. As both men are childless, both suddenly begin to
entertain ideas of fatherhood, and imagine the pride they would
feel once the boy is found. Since two heads are better than one,
they decide to conduct the search together. The fact that they
are looking for the same boy creates some tension for a while,
but not enough to dispel the comedy of the situation, a kind of
modern "comedy of errors", if you will. In keeping with the mood
of the film, the boy, in the end, tells both men, again during
separate conversations, that both of them make the perfect
father. The problem is resolved for all sides - dad, mom, boy,
ex-lovers - a kind of "as you like it" scenario. "All is well
that ends well", and if there is anything we learn, it is that
there is indeed more than one way to skin a cat, and that if you
have to solve a problem, you might as well have fun on the way.

The film is light and entertaining, an approach which we might
think of applying to the business of ordinary life, which, if
viewed from another angle, might not be all that heavy after all.
It's a cry, a laugh, a sigh and a scream all in one.

Average customer rating:

Three's the charm

what a tough luck great comedy!

Francis Veber Collection 3 DVD Set (Les Fugitifs / Les Comperes / Le Chevre) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Francis Veber
Manufacturer: Madman Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000IHVGC6

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: French (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN (1.66:1), SYNOPSIS: This DVD set features three cult French comedies directed by Francis Veber and starring Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard: The Fugitives: Francis Veber directs this hilarious comedy about Francois (Pierre Richard), a desperate, novice, bumbling bank robber who takes an ex-con hostage during his attempted hold-up. They are both chased by the police. Jean (Gerard Depardieu) plays the convicted bank robber just released from jail and forced to escape with Francois. Anais Bret portrays Francois' 6-year-old autistic daughter, and is the reason why he needed money so badly that he would steal for it. An inventive series of farcical situations and witty dialogue keeps the two men moving one step and several missteps ahead of the police. ComDads: When her teen-aged son (Stephane Bierry) runs away and the police are noncommittal, a woman (Anne Duperey) convinces two old flames -- a crusading journalist (Gerard Depardieu) and a hypochondriac (Pierre Richard) -- that each is the father of her son in order to spur someone into action. Both eventually decide to search for the boy, meet up, and tell each other their stories without realizing they are looking for the same kid. Knock On Wood: The film which brought director Francis Veber and comic duo Pierre Richard and Gérard Depardieu to fame, LA CHÈVRE introduces François, a man with seriously bad luck. When a businessman's daughter disappears in Mexico, François is sent to track her down. Why? She also has terrible luck and perhaps this shared trait might help to locate her. Assisted by private eye Campana (Depardieu), François' trail of destruction leads straight to hilarity. SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailer(s), Interactive Menu, 3-DVD Set,

Customer Reviews:

Three's the charm.......2007-08-19

Long unavailable in English-language versions since Disney bought up the remake rights nearly 20 years ago, Francis Veber's Les Fugitifs has finally emerged on an English subtitled DVD in Australia (alongside La Chevre and Les Comperes). Reuniting Pierre Richard and Gerard Depardieu for the last time as a hopeless bank robber and the hardened criminal he takes as hostage during a botched hold-up only for the police to naturally assume Depardieu is the robber and Richard the hostage, it's not the strongest of their pairings. Curiously, neither star is at their best here and the film surprisingly misses a few comic opportunities that Veber would avail himself of in the for-once superior US remake, Three Fugitives (to date the only one of his films he remade himself). Indeed, second time round Nick Nolte got far more laughs as the straight man than Martin Short did in the Richard role. That said, it's still an enjoyable summer movie with a few inspired moments. Be warned that there are a few problems with the subtitling that even my poor command of French noticed, such as "He WON'T call the cops" somehow managing to turn into "He WILL phone the cops" at one point!

Les Comperes (remade as Father's Day) is easily the weakest of the three, a pleasant enough amble but not particularly funny and overly reliant on starpower to drive it. But perhaps the reason both seem a little disappointing is that their first teaming, La Chevre, is still so good. Richard's the idiot accountant assigned to find a missing girl in South America simply because he's every bit as accident-prone as she is, while Depardieu's the worldly private eye who has to pretend to be working for him while really running the case and trying to keep him out of trouble. You can pretty much fill in the gaps from there, but that doesn't make it any less funny. Richard's pratfalls work not just because they're unsensationally directed rather than heavily telegraphed (one even takes place out of focus in the background) but because, like Clouseau, Richard's character doesn't know he's a clumsy idiot. In fact, he thinks he's the epitome of cool and control. But it's Depardieu who really makes the film, his underplayed exasperation and beautiful reaction shots easily the funniest thing in the film, especially as he realises with increasing fatalism that Richard's bad luck is starting to rub off.

Extras are limited to trailers, but each PAL disc offers a good transfer with English subtitles.

what a tough luck great comedy!.......2007-06-20

this great french movie classic was played by two great actors and the screenplay couldn't be better! very thrilling and suspenseful yet at the same time very coincidentally funny. if you want to know how a comedy is entitled to brand itself as a 'comedy', this is it.
great acting, directing and editing. a perfect ingredient mixture for being a real comedy. highly recommended.

Les Comperes (ComDads) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

Average customer rating:

Les Comperes (ComDads) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Francis Veber
Manufacturer: Madman Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000IHX8NQ

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: French (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SYNOPSIS: When her teen-aged son (Stephane Bierry) runs away and the police are noncommittal, a woman (Anne Duperey) convinces two old flames -- a crusading journalist (Gerard Depardieu) and a hypochondriac (Pierre Richard) -- that each is the father of her son in order to spur someone into action. Both eventually decide to search for the boy, meet up, and tell each other their stories without realizing they are looking for the same kid. This French comedy was remade in the U.S. as Fathers' Day in 1997. SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailer(s), Interactive Menu,

Average customer rating:

Les Comperes (ComDads)

Manufacturer: CP Digital
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0007KS028

Product Description

This DVD was officially released in Russia by studio "CP DIGITAL". DVD has two soundtracks: original FRENCH and RUSSIAN (voice-over), it also has optional (removable) RUSSIAN subtitles.

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