Le soupirant

Etaix proves himself the true heir to Buster Keaton in this, his first feature. This is just a fantastic series of escalating gags. It's just a pure joy to watch, from beginning to last. Everything works, and the laughs just build and build. Etaix stars as an idle young man (he was in his mid-30s at the time the film was made). His parents tell him it's time to find a wife and get the Hell out of their house. Etaix doesn't know a thing about courting women. At first he tries observing the many smooth operators across Paris, but, whenever he tries to copy them, it comes off as disastrous (a lot of resemblance to Keaton's Seven Chances in this portion of the film). The film launches into the stratosphere when Etaix finally meets a willing woman, Laurence Ligneres, and wishes he hadn't. Ligneres is the single most annoying woman in existence, with an enormous, obnoxious laugh, the immediate expectations that Etaix should drop all kinds of cash on her whims, and a penchant for getting pass-out drunk. Ligneres is so perfect. You want to run her over with your car, but, speaking as a viewer, she's really funny at being that annoying, as opposed to just being annoying to watch. For Etaix it is a different story, and his deadpan attempts to get rid of her are hysterical. The final part of the film has Etaix falling head over heals in love with a famous songstress (France Arnel), and he goes to great lengths to get backstage to see her. For fans of silent comedies, this is a must-see. It couldn't exactly play as a silent - Ligneres eardrum piercing laugh would be lost if it were - but the gags are very reminiscent of Keaton's and Chaplin's, while still feeling fresh. It's not as ambitious as what Tati was doing, but it's pretty much perfect.