With "Charmants Garçons" ,Henri Decoin returned to his former style of the thirties:light-hearted gallantries,comedy ,at the time when he worked when his then-wife Danielle Darrieux.During the following decade ,he peaked with his films Noirs which were the best of the genre in France after those of HG Clouzot and Julien Duvivier.
In the fifties,he would continue with thrillers,although they were not as strong as the forties works.
"Charmants Garçons ",which is a return to sentimental comedy,was probably influenced by Guitry and Duvivier,being a film made up of sketches .There's only one central character ,a woman in search of the ideal man,whereas the men are just passing by.
Zizi Jeanmaire was essentially a dancer and an occasional singer (although her voice leaves a little to be desired),and here a nice actress who resembles fifties star Pascale Petit and a dash of Arletty in her delivery.
Lulu is a night club dancer and she tries to meet as many men as she can to find the man in a million.The first segments are to be found in the first half:the most successful one is the moment when a self-conscious François Périer tells his straight-faced wife he wants a divorce,in which Charles Spaak's lines equal Guitry's ;and if it were not enough,his best friend shows him his futuristic kitchen "so that he won't need any woman and will be able to enjoy bachelorhood ",ice on the cake indeed!
Another successful sequence takes place in a chic restaurant where lulu meets the two Vidal,Gil and Henri: the former is an old sour-tempered maid's gigolo,the latter a boxer:his next boxing match is for tonight and ,in the meantime,he is not allowed to smoke,to drink and to sleep with women.He remains adamant ,but Lulu is looking forward to having a private fight afterward;she watches the match on a tiny fifties TV screen:close-up shots ,technical problems ,and interlude -an unbearable "Chanteuse" . Her boxer triumphs but ....
Lulu is really down on her luck with men: a fat wealthy German oafish woos her ceaselessly ,and another one of her fancy leaves her for another younger dude .Will she find Him some day?
This is an uneven work,but its several funny moments make it finally worthwhile.
