But where did he get all this? For the holidays, Jérôme Commandeur had fun by inviting all his friends from the world of humor and comedy to his “Magical World”. An extravagant television series in which he parodies famous television shows, famous people and political figures. In eight times twenty-six minutes, Commander, who wrote and imagined everything, dares to make salacious jokes, below-the-belt humor, spicy and grating. Everyone lets themselves be carried away in its universe, which looks as much towards “Nuls, the show” as it does to sketches from the heyday of Les Inconnus.
“As a kid, I grew up being hysterical about both the former and the latter,” recalls Commander. Parodies, I risked it when I started on Europe 1. And then I wanted to go into this area fully. » It's impossible not to laugh at the interview with the fake Balkanys, hidden in a two-room apartment in Seine-Saint-Denis, trying to convince a journalist of their new life of poverty. “We are a bit small compared to reality,” says Jérôme. When we see that the news channels broadcast fifteen minutes on Isabelle waiting for her husband in front of the doors of the Santé prison, we understand that we live in crazy, shaken times. And it’s this madness that I wanted to show. »
In his new series, Jérôme Commandeur parodies current events.
© Canal+
“If I have to make a joke about an imam or a rabbi, I will”
Commander doesn't take it lightly and, above all, doesn't hold back on any subject. “Journalists are obsessed with constantly asking us if we prohibit ourselves from doing things. I am convinced that people go to see comedians, watch comedy programs, because they want to put their fingers in the socket, they want a little boost of juice because that's the place where it's is permitted. So, no, I don't set limits for myself. » Even when it comes to discussing religion, a slippery slope in 2024? “My humor is a pat, a caress. If I have to make a joke about an imam, a priest or a rabbi, I will do it. But I won't spend twenty-five minutes on it either. On the other hand, if I am forbidden to talk about it, I will not respect the ban. We must make people laugh with it, but not against it. »
Basically, Jérôme Commandeur, 48, is much more the heir of Muriel Robin or Valérie Lemercier than the father of the Instagram and TikTok generation. He grew up the old-fashioned way. “I started on the radio because it was the only way to get my jokes heard, it was before the days of social networks. »Commander saw his idols on stage in the 1990s and places his desire to get on stage there. “I went four or five times to attend their shows in Paris, I took a place in the henhouse and I had the impression of being in their living room. At 18, the desire to do the same more than tickled me. » He went through “Graines de star” in 1997 to make himself known. “I'm 21 years old, I'm at Baltard Pavilion and I know that's where I want to be. But, as they say in politics, the trouble starts once you're elected! »
Jérôme Commandeur in his “Magical World”
© Canal+
“The first time I sold out, I had tears in my eyes”
From show to show, Commander will nevertheless impose his character as a brilliant winnower, a little uncomfortable with his physique, but who knows how to press where it hurts. Among his contemporaries, Florence Foresti – the boss – is full of praise for her friend, impressed by his outbursts as well as his perfectionist side. “My thing is that I always felt like I was in the right place at the right time. I remember playing my first show in Paris in a 35-seat room. The first time I sold out, I had tears in my eyes, it was really where I needed to be. »
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Since then he has filled the Zénith, presented the Césars, appeared in numerous comedies and directed two films. Would he like to take a step aside? Going towards auteur cinema, which has never appealed to him? “I don’t have that complex at all. But if it happens to me, I would be delighted…” He is currently filming his third feature film, “You haven't changed”, the story of four high school friends who meet again, with Vanessa Paradis , Laurent Lafitte and François Damiens. It's a bittersweet reflection, he explains, on his 1990s, those when everything seemed impossible to him, where the life of an artist seemed a world apart, untouchable. A magical world, in a way.
“The magical world of Jérôme Commandeur”, from December 18 on Canal+.
© Canal+
