As the end-of-year holidays approach, a family is busy finding the last gifts. Will these live up to expectations? Camille Lellouche, Mélanie Doutey and Gérard Darmon share the bill in this new Christmas comedy, to be discovered from December 25 on French-speaking screens.
(A text by Emma.raposo)
Who has never dreaded the Christmas holidays and its parade of improbable and useless gifts? In the Stain family, preparations for the festivities are going well and everyone is very busy finding gifts that will please… or not. First there are the two Julie sisters Melanie Doutey and Charlotte Camille Lellouche. The first is a tired wife, the second is the good friend, eternally single. Facing them, their brother Jérôme Max Boublilwho fell in love with a brainless pop starlet Vanessa Guide. Without forgetting the parents, Michel Gérard Darmon and Françoise Chantal Lauby. In this family, which consults the same therapist, certain gifts may not receive the expected reception.
December is the ultimate family comedy season, and this year is no exception. Co-directed by Raphaële Moussafir and Christophe Offenstein, “The Gifts” immerses spectators in a choral story, narrating the adventures of a family of Jewish origin as the holidays approach. And as in all families, communication is not always there. But what does it matter! We don't deviate from Christmas traditions, even if it's just to keep up appearances.
Gérard Darmon and Chantal Lauby in “The Gifts”
© Pathé Films AG
Built around funny, gently embarrassing events, the film co-written by Raphaële Moussafir et Stéphane Kazandjanis yet another story about the family and its little dysfunctions, an inexhaustible subject of comic situations, it is true. And the frenzy of the end-of-year celebrations does nothing to help the tensions. So much so that the gifts long awaited by some become a real source of anxiety for others.
If this family fable focuses mainly on the three children's characters, played by Camille Lellouche, Melanie Doutey et Max Boublilthe parents, played by figures of French comic cinema who are Gérard Darmon et Chantal Laubyare put in the background. Unfortunately too little exploited, the latter could have reinforced a nice, but predictable comedy. As for Tom Lee, Liliane Rovère et Vanessa Guidethey complete the cast and bring a welcome additional humorous touch.
“The Gifts” is perhaps not the most phony comedy in the history of French cinema, but, despite everything, without going overboard, this film gives us a light and entertaining time. Everything you could want from a Christmas comedy.
More information on “The Gifts”
Trailer for the film “The Gifts”
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