Review of Tanguy

Introduction

This really is one of those hidden gems. It`s storyline will have a personal resonance for many in this age of eternal youth and over-priced housing preventing offspring from flying the nest at the prescribed time.

Edith (Sabine Azema) and Paul (Andre Dussollier) are the long suffering parents of a single child; Tanguy (Eric Berger).28 years old, an eternal student, and something of an expert in oriental language and culture, Tanguy appears in many respects to be the perfect son. He`s certainly well-liked, he`s witty and charming, he`s intelligent and he`s not a bad looking chap too, despite his slightly intellectual air. Of course that all works up to a point, but at 28 he is showing no signs of independence. He`s on to a good thing at home and he knows it. He has a constant string of lady-friends staying over, he eats them out of house and home, his laundry can be found spread about the house and frankly he treats the place like a hotel. Ring any bells?

Despite years of almost smothering devotion (especially from his mother), his parent`s patience is wearing thin. But in the way of all great comedies, they can`t bring themselves to do the simple thing and just talk to him about it. They set about plotting a series of `unfortunate events` that may encourage him to leave home of his own accord. Thus the scene is set for one of the most hilarious, witty and acidic comedies I`ve seen this year as the parents, driven by increasing desperation, are forced into concocting increasingly extreme plots and plans that would leave most parents wincing. Surely no parents would do this to their kids? They start their vacuuming at 4 in the morning, they put smelly fish behind his radiator. They cut off his electricity making him lose a typed report. The mother takes up metal sculpture which requires more of Tanguy`s space and is incredibly noisy. She falsely accuses him of damaging her car. The parents even try to embarass their son out of the house by having sex in the lounge. But somehow nothing seems to work on Tanguy, the most tolerant individual on the planet.

Video

This really is a first-class transfer, and is virtually flawless. Of course it`s only a recent release though it is indicative of the increased attention that C`est La Vie sem to be applying to their releases. There`s a very nice animated menu too which shows the increased investment that they are prepared to put into their release programme. First class.

Audio

There is an absolutely wonderful haunting Chinese musical theme to this movie (reflecting Tanguy`s interest in the orient) despite the fact that it is filmed almost exclusively in Paris - with the exception of the closing sequences. This sets the tone for a wonderfully inventive soundtrack which reflects the mood and atmosphere of the plot remarkably well. It`s a nice 5.1 soundtrack - but all in French. (Needless to say - you can use the English sub-titles).

Features

There`s the standard C`est La Vie trailer set, as well as some text based biographies and filmographies. There`s also the superfluous picture gallery that is a feature of all C`est La Vie`s releases. Apart from a very nicely crafted animated menu - that`s it.

Conclusion

This wicked comedy really is first class which explains the Hollywood interest in producing a re-make. The script, whilst cynical beyond belief, is really very witty and the casting is superb. Azema and Dussollier as the two hapless parents are so well cast you almost couldn`t imagine anyone else taking the roles, and Berger is quite superb as the comic foyle. Endlessly patient, always understanding and never blaming his parents for any of the mishaps and disagreements that have been created, Tanguy`s constant stream of Chinese proverbs and sayings are delivered with perfect comic timing. His parent`s reaction to them is often hilarious - with barely contained fury and frustration.

Director Etienne Chatiliez has obviously had a lot of fun making this movie and it shows. It`s fairly crackling throughout it`s two hours, never losing pace, and always taking some new more extreme twist and turn. There are very few cuts in the movie, as Chatiliez has chosen to use long steadicam sequences throughout. These add to the involving, almost `fly on the wall` feel to the film and they are quite wonderfully thought through and choregraphed.

The rumour mill suggests that Jimmy Fallon, star of Saturday Night Live is to star in the American remake. They`ll have a tough job attaining the same results and I`d recommend treating yourself to this original version. It`s a repeater too so well worth purchasing.