nicholas.rhodes

Although this film actually came out in 2006, I have just now got round to seeing it. I remember at the time when it came out, many people were complaining that it was not as good as the original two films. In fact, the film is a reasonally praiseworthy successor to the other two and notably to the first one which, if I am not mistaken, takes place in Senegal. In fact, I found the second film, which takes place in the snow, decidedly more boring than the first. This third effort, manifestly made on the island of Sardinia, is more in keeping with the first original. The difference is that at the time of the original film, the morals of the film were a shock to the public. Today, the morals of the film remain the same, but public moral standards have declined so much (in my opinion) so that the film's morals do not shock any more and the film is therefore a disappointment to those who were expecting something even more "outré". I hasten to add that I in no way identify with the morals of this film - notably on the subject of infidelity which I find horrifying but I try to regard the whole film as something not to be taken seriously. The humor of the film is an extension of "Le Père Noël est Une Ordure" with the same gestuals and expressions, and it is easy to enjoy the performances of actors one has known for many years. The humour is (a) typically French and (b) within that domain, at the bottom end of the scale of finesse and subtlety, i.e. it is light years away from the likes of Fernandel, Bourvil, de Funès, Richard/Depardieu et alia. But there are some original touches and real comedic talent - I do like Martin Lamotte/Dominique Lavanant, and Thierry Lhermitte, and have a lot of admiration of Jugnot, though his rôle here is really not one of his best. However I am clavier-allergic, and I imagine many other people are too - they guy is just unbearable whatever the part he takes - and Marie-Anne Chazel is reasonably funny but not a ball ! On the other hand I do have soft spot for Michel Blanc with his pseudo-American expressions, and I have always found this actor to have a lot of talent which could be better used in other circumstances. Picture quality wise, the film is abysmal - everything seems overly yellow and it is a real shame that such a beautiful setting as Sardinia could not have been filmed in natural colors. I also mention the low audio quality and whilst liking the title song, would have preferred it to be sung in Italian rather than Spanish - there is something that defies all logic here but I can only conclude that the film director was under the misapprehension that the island of Sardinia was part of Spain !!