French Fried Vacation 2: The Bronzés go Skiing
In this sequel to Les Bronzes (1978) summer has passed, but that doesn't mean the fun has to end for Bernard, Nathalie, Gigi, Jerome, Popeye, Jean-Claude, and Christiane.
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- Cast:
- Thierry Lhermitte , Michel Blanc , Christian Clavier , Gérard Jugnot , Josiane Balasko , Dominique Lavanant , Maurice Chevit
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Reviews
You won't be disappointed!
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
If aliens would come to earth and want to understand our frontiers and nationalities, i would recommend our french comedies to learn from them. So American comedies are totally different from ours, and while European ones would be similar, my fellows have however clear and distinct attributes: if you look for fashioned and modern french, you will find only Parisians! Outside Paris, french live as in Middle- ages! French are wild beats as we just like to eat, drink and have sex... We are not very polite or clean and we are lucky to live in an however beautiful country with fantastic landscapes! So with that on mind, you can enjoy this funny movie! I never went to winter vacations but this movie feels like it! As it happens on the late 70s, you can even discover France at its best as everything was better than now: the cars, the fashion, the attitudes. It's maybe the first time i watched it entirely because as a child, we weren't allowed TV except on Tuesdays and Saturdays. So this movie belongs to the few french cult movies as we watch it over and over. All generations can share some lines or situations as they are so true that they will make us laugh forever!
The idea of seeing a comedy by Patrice Leconte, a director with a history of more serious work behind him, presented itself when this film turned up on a cable channel. True, this was a film that bears no resemblance with such movies as "Ridicule", "Intimate Strangers", and others, more accomplished than this silly comedy. Granted, it was made by a younger man who showed his genius in staging this sequel of "French Fried Vacation", which we have not seen, also directed by M. Leconte.As comedies go, this strictly for local consumption. It is surprising Hollywood did not steal the plot for a remake, although we cannot be one hundred percent sure it was not the case. Suffice it to say, M. Leconte gives the picture some fun in the snow. The surprise in this film was the presence of the young and energetic Thierry Lharmitte, who went to make a name for himself in the French cinema. We were somewhat disappointed by Josiane Balasco, an actress who has always delivered, but here has nothing to do. Basically, it is the same cast as in the original film. Michel Blanc, and especially the wonderful Christian Clavier fare better than their comrades in the snow.
It is an excellent movie!! A French monument! For English speakers, you can find the DVD with English subs on amazon.co.uk. Most of the actors are part of the French comedy group called "Le Splendid", and they're all simply awesome. This movie is a sequel of "Les Bronzes" which in my opinion is not worth watching. It's good but it's far below the laughing fest that is "Les Bronzes font du ski". The dialogues are perfect and the situations are just hilarious. A group of friends who met in a Club Med for single people reunite to go ski together. When they decide to do a helicopter drop at the top of a ski resort things start to go wrong...but it gets real funny for us! I'm French but I hope foreigners will get a chance to watch it since it was a huge success in France along with "Le Pere Noel est une Ordure" (also available on amazon uk)made by the same "Splendid" group.
Follow-up to smash hit "Les Bronzés" with virtually the same cast and director. This time of course the setting is not a tropic Club Med place but a winter-sports resort in the French Alps.Except for a rather annoying 'seventies' disco-style soundtrack, movie hasn't dated at all. Among the many hilarious highlights there is the local "wine" tasting scene and the encounter in a remote cabin with some horny Italians. Almost everyone involved went on to become a major star in French cinema, as Christian Clavier ("Les Visiteurs" and recently Napoleon Bonaparte in a prestigious TV-series) and Gerard Jugnot (lead in the 2005 Oscarnominated "Les Choristes"). But also director Patrice Leconte became one of France's most respected directors (Le mari de la Coiffeusse,Ridicule,"Les Grands Ducs", etc...).If you like this try also the crazy "Le Péré Noel est une Ordure", made a few years later and again with virtually the same cast.