What do you get when you combine a hairdresser, an IT specialist, and a blind man in a French farce? A very funny and delightful comedy that will keep you laughing, smiling and feeling good.
Bye-Bye Morons (Adieu Les Cons) is a French farce simply defined as a comedy that uses absurd and highly improbable events in the plot. Getting its roots from some of the great French farces such as La Cage aux Folles, The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe and even the fictional character of inspector Jacques Clouseau (The Pink Panther series), this film has a strong storyline that will bring you through hidden pathways, trapdoors, and along an emotional roller coaster journey that will have you amazed.
Written, directed and acted in by Albert Dupontel, this film was the recipient of many César Awards (like the Academy Awards in France) including best picture, best directing, best screenplay and best cinematography. It is deserving of these awards; the story is very well crafted from beginning to end and the film has high production value.
Dupontel has used the camera to capture the absurdity of the moments and with textures that are rich and warm, overhead shots that are delightful to watch and emotions on the characters’ faces that will draw you into their personal stories.
The two main leads, Suze Trappet played by Virginie Efira and JB Cuchas played by Dupontel, are both desperate for survival. Suze is diagnosed with a terminal illness and goes on a search for her past, and JB has just been replaced in his job and through a series of mishaps tries to correct his folly.
Suze and JB meet by chance and through necessity create a symbiotic relationship that develops into farcical proportions. As their journey moves forward they are joined by Mr. Blin, a blind researcher who has a knack for getting caught up in ludicrous and funny circumstances. A mention also needs to go to Terry Gilliam for a very short but hilarious cameo role as Le Chasseur (the hunter).
This is truly a delightful movie that is warm, smart, funny, sad, comedic and quirky. It will make audiences feel good like the days before COVID-19 when we were able to see entertaining movies on the big screen.
For these reasons I recommend and give Bye-Bye Morons four out of five tugboats.
Presented by Powell River Film Festival, Bye Bye Morons is showing at the Patricia Theatre on October 10 at 1:30 pm. For more information, go to prfilmfestival.ca/prffviff.
Stephen J. Miller is a producer and creative writer in feature films and television, and past owner of repertoire movie theatres.
