A look back at one of the funniest sequences in “Gendarme in New York”: that of the famous English lesson given by Cruchot to his subordinates.
When we grew up with Louis de Funès cinema, there are many lines taken from his most famous films that automatically come to mind in certain situations.
“The poor are made to be very poor, and the rich, very rich!” “It’s all mush!” “Get the hell out of me or I’ll beat you up!” “She’s lying in German!” “You do as usual: you promise everything, and I give nothing!”
Countless punchlines
From La Folie des grandeurs to La Grande Vadrouille via Hibernatus or La Zizanie, there is no shortage of examples of phrases that have remained in the public’s memories in the career of the man many French people consider to be one of the greatest comedians of all time.
– 56 years later, we still use this brilliant line, invented by the best French dialogue writer
In a certain number of these punchlines, we regularly find a very specific characteristic: the blatant and often ridiculous discrepancy between the language of Molière and that of Shakespeare. There are in fact many characters in Louis de Funès who claim to speak English even though they do not master it at all.
This gives lines such as “But alors you are french”, “You are very sympathic but I prefer vous voir là-bas” or even “I’m quite sure it’s a Fantômas move.”
Between English and French
In this regard, the sequence which best illustrates this break between English and French is found in Le Gendarme à New York, the second opus of the famous saga directed by Jean Girault in 1965. During a tasty scene, Cruchot ( played by Louis de Funès) makes it his mission to impart his poor knowledge of English to his superior Gerbert and his subordinates, while they are heading towards the United States.
In the cabin of their liner, the gendarme then improvises a little lesson which gives rise to a cooking competition, to multiple nervous breakdowns, and therefore… to many succulent little sentences.
The one that has settled most comfortably in the collective unconscious of the French public is obviously:
“My flowers are beautiful.”
Extremely basic and devoid of any comic power if taken out of context, this line becomes instantly hilarious when we think back to the famous sequence, and to Cruchot explaining the structure of the sentence to Gerbert and Merlot, who end up arguing and coming to the following conclusion: “Your flowers are tart!”
Whether to gently make fun of a friend who is searching for words in English with a questionable accent or to highlight one’s own shortcomings in the subject, it is often wise to take out a little “My flowers are beautiful.” of his kepi.
What is your favorite line from Louis de Funès?
(Re)discover the trailer for “Gendarme in New York”…
