Simply Perfect

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

For people that don't watch French movies too often this is certainly one you have to watch. All the actors from the comedian group "Splendid" are all amongst the best comedians from France. I must have see this movie like ten times and still it makes me laugh like it was the first time. Just thinking about some cult scenes in it makes me smile. The dialogues are of such high level in comedy that almost everyone that I know that saw the movie remembers every punchline from this movie. Josiane Balasko as the uptight boss of SOS Service, Thierry Lhermitte and Anémone as the warmhearted employees, Christian Clavier as the frustrated gay, Gerard Jugnot as the psychotic bad Santa, Marie-Anne Chazel as the little bit retarded wife of Santa, and Bruno Moynot as the unfortunate mister Preskovic are all sublime in their roles. I just can't wait for Christmas to watch it again...

Like all French film comedy dialogs are almost impossible to translate into another language, a pity because this is a comedy feast of humor, sometimes very dark. The story is simple, it is just an excuse to create a series of hilarious situations in which actors are a pleasure to spread wickedness and stupidity from the sublime sometimes flirt with the excellent taste bad. I do not know if the French actors (Josiane Balasko, Thierry Lhermitte, Gérard Jugnot, Anemone, Martin Lamotte, Bruno Moynot, Anne-Claire Chazel, Christian Clavier, Jacques François) are known in the Anglo-Saxon world, they are famous France for their many comedies, often acidic. The American remake is a true abomination, that it is better never see.

There are some movies that you can watch several times and each time you find them better. Le père noël, after a play of the same name, is definitely among these. The dialogs are so rich (and always funny), that every watching reveal you a reply you didn't notice. Every character is well defined and written by/for the actor who plays it with a rare intensity. That's a movie you can't describe or quote out of its context and just have to watch. If you're French, you might already have seen it several times, so this movie is popular here, otherwise I suggest you to watch it, hoping you'll share this typical French "humour".

I must have seen this film about 100 times : Le Père Noël... is probably the most famous french comedy ever done, at least in France, far, far more famous and cult than the recent "Le diner De cons" (which is not cult at all, plain funny and that's it). Le Père Noël wasn't a real hit when it got released (it was in fact the movie version of the same-titled play), but it gradually became THE reference in cult comedy amongst french teenagers. I don't even see what the equivalent could be in the States. Anyway : each and every line of this film is sheer fun delight, total trashy-meets-uptight-meets gory-meets-nonsensical humor. Obviously untranslatable and mainly based upon the very subtle depiction of each character, most of the specific expressions of the film are now part of everyday language. It's not even a must-see for every french movie-goer since everyone has seen it at least once in his life. For those who don't cringe at french humor (nothing scatological here), this is an absolute topper in fun. Highly recommended.