Because between soaring prices, the war in the Middle East and school bullying, now is not the time for laughing, we decided to look for something to make us laugh. And because France is the blessed country of comedies, here are fifteen of the greatest French comedies of all time.
Attention ! Considering the fact that you can’t put everything in a top, we had to make choices. If your favorite comedies are not included in this file, do not hesitate to cite them (respectfully) in the comments area.
#1 Uncle gunslingers, by Georges Lautner (1963)
Cult film par excellence, The Tonton Gunslingers is for many spectators the masterpiece of Georges Lautner, but also of the legendary dialogue writer Michel Audiard (Melody in the basement, A monkey in winter, The old men of the old days). Adapting the last volume of the trilogy of Grisbi by Albert Simonin, the film is a true marvel of humor, with a gallery of exceptional actors: Lino Ventura, Bernard Blier, Francis Blanche, Jean Lefebvre, Claude Rich. Above all, as the duo from the Calmos cinema chain brilliantly demonstrated, Michel Audiard’s dialogues are of great stylistic complexity and are even a form of literature ! Of “Tdon’t touch grisbi slut!” At “Idiots dare to do anything, that’s even how we recognize them!“, The Tonton Gunslingers is an endless well of cult replicas that we love to pull out on all occasions.
#2 La Grande Vadrouille, by Gérard Oury (1966)
After realizing Le Corniaud in 1965, the filmmaker Gérard Oury reunited with his two stars Bourvil and Louis de Funès for a comedy that had become cult: The big mop. Telling the History of the Resistance under Occupied France, the film was the biggest success at the French box office for more than thirty years before being dethroned by the Titanic by James Cameron in 1998, and the greatest success of French cinema until Welcome to the Ch’tis by Danny Boon (2008).
#3 La Folie des Grandeurs, by Gérard Oury (1971)
If readers of Victor Hugo know that the illustrious author of Contemplations and Miserable was not without humor, it was a particularly daring bet to adapt the play Ruy Blas in comedy ! Although Gérard Oury’s initial plans were undermined by the death of Bourvil, who was initially to play the role of the valet ultimately assigned to Yves Montand, the result is a great comedy film, benefiting from exceptional sets and costumes, a very successful soundtrack by Polnareff (yes!), and above all the technicality of the acting of the legendary Louis de Funès.
#4 The Life annuity, by Pierre Tchernia (1972)
An insurmountable monument (with Franquin, of course) of Franco-Belgian comics, René Goscinny also had a career in cinema which is not limited to the productions of the Idéfix studio alone. He also collaborated several times with director Pierre Tchernia on several television films and comedy feature films, including The Life annuitywhich tells the story of the Galipeau family, whose members die one after the other before even being able to benefit from the house purchased as a life annuity. an old man ultimately more solid than they initially imagined. A hilarious black comedy!
#5 Les Bronzés, by Patrice Leconte (1978)
First film by the Splendid actors, The Bronzed is arguably the ultimate holiday movie. Recounting the meeting of a group of vacationers in a Club Med in Ivory Coast, this hilarious comedy is a brilliant character comedy. Highlighting the limits of the hippie generation, The Bronzed is one of the most important French comedies of the last fifty years! We could also have mentioned its sequel, Tanned people go skiingpublished the following year, or even Santa Clause is garbagereleased in 1982.
#6 Cold Buffet, by Bertrand Blier (1979)
Considered by the brilliant Albert Dupontel as the greatest poet of French cinema, Bertrand Blier is above all a gigantic author of black comedies, whose masterpiece is obviously Cold buffet. Starring Gérard Depardieu, Bernard Blier and Jean Carmet, the film tells of a series of murders, each more surreal than the last. With its absurd humor reminiscent of the theater of Eugène Ionesco, Cold buffet is a gem of writing and interpretation.
#7 Délicatessen, by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro (1991)
First feature film by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (The fabulous destiny of Amelie Poulain, A long engagement Sunday), Delicatessen is a very black comedy, which tells us the life of a hotel in a post-apocalyptic France, guarded by a butcher whose stock of meat strangely increases as the tenants disappear. Winner of two Césars, including best first film, this feature film preparing the aesthetic revolutions of The City of Lost Children is a little gem where comedy borders on Science Fiction and horror cinema. A delight!
#8 Kitchen and outbuildings, by Philippe Muyl (1993)
Adapted from the play by Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri, Kitchen and Outbuildings tells us the story of a dinner where the main guest is late in arriving. By placing its cameras only in the kitchen rather than in the dining room, Philippe Muyl and his two co-writers and actors shake up the codes of dinner comedy to present us with a great comedy of manners. The (much) late Jean-Pierre Bacri is wonderful in his role as a depressive misanthrope, condemning this good bourgeois society ready to be amazed and outraged by anything and everything.
#9 The Visitors, by Jean-Marie Poiré (1993)
Co-written by Jean-Marie Poiré and Christian Clavier (who plays two roles in the film), Visitors is one of the greatest comedies of the 1990s, and never seems to get old. Recounting the adventures of Count Godefroy de Montmirail (Jean Réno) and his servant Jacquouille la Fripouille (Christian Clavier), who landed by mistake in the 1990s, Visitors is a hilarious, beautifully produced film.
#10 The City of Fear, by Alain Berberian (1994)
Absolute symbols of the Canal Spirit of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Les Nuls are undoubtedly one of the most iconic troupes on the French small screen. Alain Chabat, Dominique Farrugia and Chantal Lauby signed their first film in 1994 with The City of Fear. In addition to being in thematic continuity of their work for television, The City of Fear is also a film for lovers of cinema, as evidenced by the numerous hilarious references to evil Dead by Sam Raimi, Bad Taste by Peter Jackson, Terminator by James Cameron or Basic Instinct by Paul Verhoeven. A cult comedy that we keep quoting!
#11 The Three Brothers, by Didier Bourdon and Bernard Campan (1995)
One year later The City of Fear des Nuls, it is the turn of the trio Les Inconnus to sign their first comedy in the cinema. Telling the story of three brothers who don’t know each other and who are supposed to inherit a colossal fortune, the film shines both for the incredible number of cult scenes, but also and above all for the impressive acting of its three actors. Because yes, as Bernard Campan explained at Mouloud Achour’s microphone, the main reason for the success of Les Inconnus is that they were above all very talented actors.
#12 The idiots’ dinner, by Francis Veber (1998)
Became with cult films such as The goat (1981) and Shut up ! (2003) the great expert on annoying comedies, Francis Veber became a true legend of French comedy thanks to the adaptation of the play The idiots’ dinner, which he himself wrote and directed. Starring Thierry Lhermitte and Jacques Villeret, the film is a classic, which brought together nearly 9 million spectators in theaters in 1998the only film to have surpassed it being Titanic by James Cameron. And that’s beautiful!
#13 Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, by Alain Chabat (2002)
After The City of Fear, Les Nuls separated in 1995, and each pursued their own career. Following the hilarious Didier (with Jean-Pierre Bacri), Alain Chabat returns in front of and behind the camera with Asterix and Obelix : Mission Cleopatra. Following Claude Zidi’s first film, the film adapts the sixth album of the adventures of the most famous Gaul created by the legendary René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. The genius of Chabat is to manage to offer a clever mix between the humor of Goscinny and that of Les Nuls. A big fan of comics, Alain Chabat was the ideal filmmaker to bring this project to fruition. The ex-Nuls will soon return with its animated series adaptation of Battle of the Chefs for Netflix.
#14 Kaamelott, by Alexandre Astier (2005-…)
Because Kaamelott was transposed to the cinema with the first part of the long-awaited trilogy, we allow ourselves to disobey the tacit rule that we had set for ourselves by evoking Alexandre Astier’s masterpiece. A cult series for an entire generation, this rereading of the Arthurian legend benefits both from the immense talent of its creator, but also from his respect for comedy, which he considers to be a noble art. Paying homage to both the dialogues of Michel Audiard and the acting of Louis de Funès and making explicit reference to Asterix from Goscinny, Kaamelott is an unforgettable treasure!
#15 Oss 117: Rio no longer responds, by Michel Hazanavicius (2009)
Second part of the trilogy OSS 117 by Michel Hazanavicius and Jean-François Halin, OSS 117 you our favorite spy go to Brazil in search of former Nazis. Wonderfully well staged, this pastiche of films from the 1950s and 1960s is a demonstration of Michel Hazanavicius’ immense talent in the pastiche genre. The film, full of lines, each one more cult and hilarious than the last (“Searching for a Nazi with Jews? What a funny idea !“), also relies on the still brilliant interpretation of Jean Dujardin in the role of Hubert Bonnisseur de la Bath, who succeeded in making this elegant racist, misogynist and homophobic spy an endearing reflection of General de Gaulle’s France. A gem of humor and cinema!
Keywords :
kaamelottAlexandre AstiercomedyOSS 117Jean DujardinasterixAlain Chabat
