His first production comes back on W9, and it's still just as funny.
With Irreducibleto be seen again this Sunday evening on television, Jérôme Commandeur takes on the role of a civil servant who refuses to resign and is transferred to the worst places in the world. A first tailor-made production for the comedian who aims to “great popular comedy” but loses none of its natural acidity.
We met him in the summer of 2022, when the film was released in cinemas, also starring Laetitia Dosch, Pascale Arbillot and Christian Clavier. Now, the actor and director is preparing his second production, You haven't changedwith Laurent Lafitte, François Damiens, Vanessa Paradis and himself. And speaking of“irreducible”he will be in the vocal casting of the animated series Asterix by Alain Chabatplanned on Netflix. Not on the side of the Gauls, however, since he was chosen to voice… Caesar's mother.
Finally, in addition to this rebroadcast, he has his own show on MyCanal: The Magical World of Jérôme Commandeur. What is it worth? “Like any sketch show focused on parody (TV programs, Netflix documentaries, etc.), there is something to eat and drink in The Magical World of Jérôme Commandeur. But we challenge you not to burst into loud laughter when the comedian pretends to be Nikos Aliagas (“When the sun rises where the goats graze, something will happen. It’s ancient Greek”), Patrick Balkany (“Everything is in trouble in there, a sparrow fart is no longer a problem”) or Pierre Lescure in C à vous. Your show is like that my Jérôme ????.”
Irreducible: the irresistible farce of Jérôme Commandeur [critique]
FIRST: There is something of the order of the splits in your humor, both very mainstream and very second degree.
JEROME COMMANDER: It's very true. I have friends who are comedians for comedians' sake, who show off to please the community. For me, it's quite the opposite: my absolute obsession is working for the general public. But there's also this part of me that wants to go find the thing that “scratches” a little… It’s the VRP’s move that gets your foot in the door: you say ” hello Mrs “you make small talk politely and end up going into the house and getting paid for a coffee. (Laughs.) That’s the complexity and challenge of what I do. But there are also small fights, sometimes. You have to hold on. For example, in my film when, three minutes from the start, my character looks at his mother-in-law and says to her: “Your ratatouille from last Thursday is still running down my throat”it’s not necessarily easy to convey.
In there, I hear a little of the humor of Dummies. Some see you as a cross between Dany Boon and Jonathan Lambert…
(Laughs.) It’s funny! You don't get up in the morning and say to yourself “I am this or that” more
it’s true that I’m in an in-between… It’s a subtle dosage. And it’s not because we want to speak to as many people as possible that we have to cower in front of the public. I see these
stuff on social networks… Famous people who post messages like (He takes on a syrupy voice.): “And gnagnagna I love you, and gnagnagna tell me how you are this morning. » Crazy stuff! You're a mop! “Tell me how you are this morning”it's not going well… You have 500 people who will respond: “Oh I’m fine, thank you!” », “Mediocre me, a little blue…” Where are we now? So we must neither fade nor become « nichiser » I don't even know « boboize ».
Is it hard to hold?
It’s a fascinating line, and it’s the heart of my point. I spent eight years at Europe 1 and I sometimes went on cutting edge things, which only made me laugh. You have to do it anyway but, in the long term, you have to be aware that you are weaving a thread, that you are building an image.
Is this relationship with your image important to you?
Yes, but without it being a calculation. And then if Irreducible is destined to be a great popular comedy – as I hope it will be – I know I can't get lost in that either.
This is perhaps also why you like to navigate between different worlds so much. Europe 1, Burger Quiz, the Caesars, The Torch with Jonathan Cohen…
I love it and I would even like to do it a little more « mastoc »with a TV show or a platform. A mix of parodies, songs, set… No promo, no talk show, it's not my job at all. But I would like to take this idea up a notch, to have my own house, my own little place.
In your last show, you say you toured in “shits” at the cinema.
I won't say which ones! (Laughs.)
Was it complicated to live with, these supporting roles in films of varying qualities?
No, because I saw it in a very healthy way. I find it very noble that, when your agent calls you and tells you there is work, you go for it. In my mind, I was like an old boulevard actor: you've played the play 150 times, your character is the fourth knife, but it doesn't matter, you're doing your job, it's already beautiful. It was only afterwards, because friends made me understand it and I thought about it myself, that I realized that from the moment you start to have a name, you don't can't do this kind of thing anymore. We come back to the question of the image: what you show of yourself is a little scattered. Today, I am much more parsimonious. The reasons that push me towards cinema must always be interesting.
You co-directed your first film, My family already adores you!et Irreducible is a remake. Is it a way of protecting yourself, of putting yourself a little bit back from the line of fire?
Exactly. In fact, one day I was offered to remake Where am I going?a huge success
Italian, almost ten million entries. The main actor and screenwriter is Checco Zalone, the Italian Dany Boon. A genius of popular comedy, an absolute star there. I wasn't sure if I should accept but a friend of mine watched the film and called me right after: “The guy is a brute of a script. » So, I rush to Where am I going? and I have the same vision. It was of course necessary to Frenchify the cultural references but script-wise, wow! The slap. So yes, I needed to rely on something strong to reassure me. We'll see, maybe in the next film I'll be ready for something new.
There is also a real desire for staging in the film, which is a change from a lot of French comedies.
And you know what a lot of it comes down to? To the landscapes. I also really liked that when I saw the Italian film. You film Ecuador or Greenland and suddenly it looks amazing. It was important, it had to be seen. There is a Philippe de Broca or Francis Veber side with The Jaguar or The Goat : this desire for a great family comedy where we would travel. Anyway, I prefer the great comedies of the past to those of today.
For what ?
It might be a little nostalgic, but The Taste of Others, Visitors or everything Veber did in the 80s, it seems to me that it spoke to everyone. When I look at the posters and trailers today, I have the impression that we are targeting a category of spectators rather than communion. And then it's rare to have the opportunity to try things. There aren't that many guys like Fabrice Éboué, for example. I talk to a lot of distributors and producers informally. When you tell them about a film idea, the guys laugh and, thirty seconds later, the ax falls: “Anyway, anyway, maybe it’s
a little tense…” Ideas self-destruct like that.
Does that stop you from wanting to write for the cinema?
No, because I'm crazy about it. My show, I wrote it down to the comma. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because I have an idea. I write for an hour and, there, I am the king of the world. I hear the laughter. Or not, for that matter. (Laughs.) Sometimes you get it wrong. There are moments in Irreducible where I said to myself: “It’s hilarious. » And then in the room, zero laughter. Nothing. Conversely, when I say “I brought you a little souvenir from the Pyrenees” and I put the box of Pyrenees on the table, people are on the floor. I thought it was an insignificant gag. Comedy is mysterious. It teaches humility.
