We saw the two new episodes of “Fais pas ci, fait pas ça”, broadcast this week on France 2. The Bouleys and the Lepics dive into the big nonsense, but the magic still works.
The Bouley and Lepic families are back! Like last year, two new episodes of Don't do this, don't do that were scheduled on France 2, this Wednesday, December 18. The cult series, which began in 2007, continues to follow the adventures of the Bouleys and the Lepics, while the children and grandchildren grow up. But the scenario of the double opus, entitled “We're going to walk on the moon”, ultimately focuses very little on the offspring of our four main characters. So much the worse for the family intrigues and the often biting analysis of the life of French households, which were the spice of the series.
The two episodes of Don't do this, don't do that begin from the first minutes by painting a picture of the “Boulpics” and their lives today: Renaud Lepic is in early retirement, his wife Fabienne spends her days writing a crazy novel, Denis Bouley is still looking for something job and Valérie sinks into the most idiotic conspiracy. In short, morale is not high among grandparents…
To shake up their parents a little, their children then have a completely crazy idea: register them for a competition organized by the European Space Agency (ESA) to become the first civilians to walk on the Moon! After some hesitation, the two couples agree to take on this somewhat crazy challenge and begin intensive training to become real astronauts. Don't do this, don't do that So let's go to space and it looks promising!
Obviously, this completely wacky scenario takes great liberties with reality. Since 1969 and the Apollo missions, no one has set foot on our satellite again. And if NASA plans to return there in a few years with its Artemis program, this is not on the agenda in Europe and France. As for sending “Mr. and Mrs. Everyman” into space overnight, that’s totally unrealistic. Not to mention the special effects and the cardboard sets to recreate the Moon and the interior of a space capsule, which are sometimes as funny as the gags which nevertheless follow one another at very high speed in the scenario.
Don't do this, don't do that, it's nonsense, but…
We will obviously forgive the innumerable number of incongruities and the liberties taken with scientific realism in these two episodes of Don't do this, don't do that. Because you shouldn't shy away from your pleasure. Basically, it's this grain of assumed madness that gives all the charm to the series, which has initially seduced people with its crazy side for more than fifteen years now. Seeing the Bouleys and the Lepics feverishly preparing for the big jump, before seeing them floating weightlessly in spacesuits, all in situations out of nowhere, works.
The dialogues have kept their flavor, with a few exceptions and the gags are still as unexpected and tasty. The always impeccable performance of the actors Guillaume de Tonquédec, Isabelle Gélinas, Bruno Salomone and especially the excellent Valérie Bonneton will do the rest. Small downside on the outcome of these two episodes, when the lunar trip goes wrong and the scenario attempts a dramatic turn. But we won't say more!
In summary, the return of Don't do this, don't do that is jubilant. This reunion of the Lepics, unable to escape the cliché of the traditional family, and the Bouleys, chic bobos who are beginning to show the weight of the years, is a pleasure. Even when they take place on the Moon.
