The writers of “Gifts” didn’t worry. A tree, a vague starting idea (rotten gifts), an choral cast (Gérard Darmon, Camille Lellouche, Max Boublil, Chantal Lauby, Mélanie Doutey, Gringe, Vanessa Guide and Liliane Rovère)… Excited, it's heavy. The feature film (1h24 on paper, but at least twice as long in “felt time”) features several members of the same family who, therefore, offer poisoned gifts to their loved ones.
“Pleasure in giving, discomfort in receiving,” warns the poster… who doesn’t think he says it so well. There is the eternal bachelor to whom we offer sheets for one person, vibrant ducks or a Jean-Jacques Goldman CD. Or the hypochondriac who receives thermometers or a voucher for a lumbar puncture. The problem with these “Gifts” is that it only consists of a succession of gags that fall flat, when they are not appalling.
Camille Lellouche plays a girl so funny that instead of saying “arrivederci”, she says “arrival of hot air”. And so uninhibited that when she gets home, she announces “I'm going to the toilet, I'm hitting the gas, I'm turning the guillotine with sausages”… What an “embarrassment”! Here, everyone farts, even the grandmother (Liliane Rovère, who speaks with an accent that is difficult to identify). As for Vanessa Guide, she takes on the role of a finished godiche, and sings a song about the Shoah in bad taste that leaves you speechless.
In short, we don't believe in anything and we don't care about everything and all the characters. After the vulgar “Christmas Balls” and the very bland “Un Noël en famille”, “Les Cadeaux” by Raphaële Moussafir and Christophe Offenstein weigh a ton and confirm that the magic of Christmas does not work every time. 2024 is in any case not a good year. Better to rewatch the timeless “Santa Claus is trash”, “The Log” or “Love Actually”, each in its own genre: dark, tasty or romantic. Real gifts, them.
