On holiday in Mauritius with her father Andre (Gérard Depardieu), teenager Veronique (Marie Gillain) is out to impress local dreamboat Benjamin (Patrick Mille) by fobbing poor dad off as her older lover. Anxious to reconnect with his headstrong daughter, Andre plays along, but the lies quickly grow out of control while scandalous gossip spreads among their fellow holidaymakers.
A sparkling, sweet natured light comedy of the kind French cinema does so well, Mon Père Ce Héros holds double-appeal, catering to every teen embarrassed by their dad on holiday and every father struggling to understand a stroppy daughter. This duality is cleverly book-ended by the opening and closing music: the former, an infectious pop ditty - Sans Messanges - sung by Marie Gillain, the latter a melancholic Ca Va crooned by Gérard Depardieu. Screenwriter Annie Maurel makes some witty observations about fathers and daughters, but the humour stems from genuine tenderness instead of malicious caricature. That is what separates this from mainstream fare. Contemporary British comedy has little tolerance for playful lies and adolescent love, but these become the rock upon which Andre and Veronique rebuild their relationship. As with any family comedy, some situations are rather convoluted (for example: Veronique’s climactic peril), but Gérard Lauzier keeps things bright and breezy and imbues his film with humour, pathos and great heart.
Though never as gut-bustingly funny as the comedies Depardieu made with Pierre Richard and director Francis Veber (though Veber had nothing to do with this film, he co-scripted the American remake), the big man’s breakneck ordeal on jet skis is a comic highlight. Even funnier is Andre’s slow realization that the entire resort thinks he’s a cradle-snatching pervert. Steve Miner’s 1994 remake, which retains Depardieu but replaces Marie Gillain with Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl, is about as funny as one could expect from the director of Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981). However, it does boast one inspired scene where Depardieu’s suspected pederast croons Thank Heaven for Little Girls in front of a horrified audience.
Marie Gillain went on to enjoy her finest hour as the spirited, swashbuckling heroine of Philippe de Broca’s sublime swashbuckling romance Le Bossu (1998). She and Depardieu make an appealing double-act with Veronique’s lies growing ever more outrageous while Andre adds his own hilarious embellishments. The stars share a natural, easygoing rapport that keeps each round of games, arguments and reconciliations entirely believable. The message rings true: being a parent requires endless reservoirs of love and patience, and the film - rather sweetly - concludes with a dedication offered by Lauzier, Maurel and Depardieu to their own daughters.
Display comments