Customer Reviews

La Chevre

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Give Francis Veber a whole lot of credit. He's able to exploit the comic talents, latent or otherwise, of Gerard Depardieu as the straight man to Pierre Richard's fall guy (literally--Richard's character takes more pratfalls than one of our late presidents--the impeached kind--in a room full of old banana peels). As the Jonah to end all Jonahs, Richard teams up with Depardieu to find the daughter of French tycoon, kidnapped in Mexico. And she herself is subject to all kinds of misfortunes.

Knowing this, the tycoon's head company psychologist theorizes that it takes a Jonah to find one, so suggests to his boss that Richard go to Mexico--accompanied by Depardieu's private investigator--to find the girl.

Hilarity ensues. There are so many funny bits in here that it's hard to fault this comedy for any reason. Those of you not fond of the Marx Brothers and other zingy slapstick, steer clear. Those others who find wacko comedy refreshing and downright fun (like I do), dig in. This is right up your alley.

Richard is perfect and Depardieu is equally great as his sometime patsy. Or should I say pratsy? Zingy, dingy, and the perfect antidote to the recession blues.

This movie is about the daughter of a CEO who was born under an unlucky star. Everything that can possibly or impossibly happen happens to her. This time she manages to disappear to the distress of her father who tries to get her back. Gerard Depardieu plays the man hired to find her. But the only way to find such an unlucky girl is get someone just as unlucky to retrace her steps. That's where Pierre Richard comes in! Pierre Richard plays an employee of the CEO's who is not only an impossibly unfortunate person but he is also very oblivious about it. With Pierre Richard hired to lead Gerard Depardieu in the right direction, it is Gerard Depardieu that feels himself unlucky. That is unlucky to be paired with such a partner. Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard are the French version of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. All in all, a funny movie with some very memorable moments.

As a little girl I remember watching this film with my father (or should I say, watching him lose it over the silly antics of Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard). The movie itself has a fun and energetic plot, lots of silly twists and fine acting. I can't say I have watched enough French films to be an expert, but as comedies go, this one is a true gem. To those of you who are a little iffy about investing 26 dollars or so on this DVD, the hilarity involved is similar to Tom Hanks 1985 American remake "Man with one Red Shoe" of Pierre Richard's 1973 "Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe" comedy. Same kind of sillyness and rambunctious coincidences, etc. It's worth it! :-)

Remade less successfully as Pure Luck, the first of Pierre Richard and Gerard Depardieu's three teamings for writer-director Francis Veber, La Chevre is still the best of the bunch. 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.

Kino's DVD transfer suffers from being a standards conversion from PAL, which is acceptable but has some blurring not present on the Australian DVD (where the film is also available on a triple-disc set with Les Comperes and Les Fugitifs).

Two incomperable French comedians join in an amusing and action-packed farce to make you feel how lucky it is to be unlucky. If you like light-hearted French comedy encased in an improbable but amusing plot then this movie is for you.

It is a good movie, not a great one, but it still follows an original line. A CEO sends an employee -Pierre Richard -, to find his kidnapped daughter in Mexico. He has been advised to choose him because the employee has such a bad luck, as his daughter has, that he is forcefully going to fall in the same traps and, sooner or later, in the same place than her beloved child. Gerard Depardieu does not believe in such argument and has to make a team with the bad-luck guy. Together, they will made a great team. Hillarious, entertaining and fun !.

Excellent French film, great actors. Pierre Richard is one of my favorites. The movie is funny and a little naive (as all older movies are), but excellent entertainment for the whole family. May not be quite appropriate for younger kids, as there are some weapons and drug hints, as well as scenes of night life. I'd rate it as PG13. It was one of my favorite movies when I was in my teens.

Francois Perrin (Pierre Richard) is a very sweet, shy and extremely unlucky person who works as an accountant. The president of the company where he is employed has a daughter who also has unusually bad luck. When she disappears during her vacation in Mexico, the distraught father sends Perrin to accompany a private detective Campana (Gerard Depardieu) in search of her, hoping that a person as unlucky as she is will be able to retrace her steps and find her! The hilarious adventures of the two will make you want to watch this movie again!

According to the film's IMDb entry, which has been updated and now appears to be accurate, the original aspect ratio (OAR) is 1.66:1 (5:3).

Kino's DVD is specified as having a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, which makes no sense.

An anamorphic transfer of a 1.66:1 film, when viewed on a 16:9 (1.77:1) widescreen TV, should be full height, and have narrow side-bars.

Can anyone comment on how the Kino DVD renders this film on a 16:9 TV?

Very, very, very funny. Not subtitle "was that supposed to be funny" funny but laugh out loud funny. A little Peter Sellers- Clouseau type funny.