How the cult film was panned by critics upon its release

In order to pay tribute to Michel Blanc who died last Thursday, TF1 is rebroadcasting the film The Bronzed this Sunday evening at 9:10 p.m. A feature film that has become cult despite harsh criticism, as Marie-Anne Chazel remembers.

If the Splendid films, like The Bronzed or Santa Claus is trashare today pillars of French comedy which bring together millions of viewers each time they are broadcast, thanks to their cult lines and their colorful characters, this was not always the case. Upon their respective releases, these works received a mixed reception from critics, to say the least, and their success in theaters was far from guaranteed.

The movie The Bronzed slammed by criticism

Marie-Anne Chazel, member of the troupe, was recently invited to The original bands on France Inter. She lucidly remembers this time when the Splendid gang was considered marginal. “We were very marginal,” she said, explaining that the Splendid, originally a café-theatre group, did not benefit from the same prestige as actors who passed through schools like the Conservatoire. “We were not part of the official and recognized movement,” she underlines, evoking this image of artists outside the system, often criticized for their humor considered vulgar or trivial. For example, when releasing Tannedharsh critics attacked the troupe. Marie-Anne Chazel remembers a scathing review: “Balasko is here, the tone is set, the vulgarity among us.”

The Splendid’s Revenge on Critics

Marie-Anne Chazel also links this marginality to the way in which their humor, very free and direct, was perceived. Their crude language and their modern approach to themes like sex broke the codes of traditional comedy, marked until then by figures like Louis de Funès. Josiane Balasko, Thierry Lhermitte, Christian Clavier, Michel Blanc and the others quickly stood out for their irreverent tone, drawing inspiration from everyday situations and playing on caricatures. This authenticity in the construction of the characters was felt on the set: the actors did not just recite their lines, they improvised, rewrote lines and gave a great deal of freedom to their characters. For Santa Claus is trashfor example, the reception was particularly harsh. Posters for the film had even been banned in the Paris metro, Nagui recalled during the show. But if the critics were slow to recognize their talent, the public was not mistaken. The Splendid films, with their incisive lines and unfiltered humor, have become essential classics. Scenes like that of the late Michel Blanc, emerging from the water in The Bronzed surrounded by a belt of algae, or the famous That’s it, yes! by Thierry Lhermitte in Santa Claus is trashare engraved in the collective memory of spectators