La ch’tite famille (2018)

Directed by: Dany Boon | 106 minutes | comedy | Actors: Dany Boon, Line Renaud, Laurence Arné, Valérie Bonneton, Guy Lecluyse, François Berléand, Pierre Richard, Juliane Lepoureau, Stéphane Pezerat, Yan Tual

In ‘La ch’tite famille’, two worlds are juxtaposed: the world of the successful designer Valentin D (Dany Boon) and his muse Constance (Laurence Arné) and that of his family in the northern countryside he really wants. dodge. As his career blossomed, he renounced the peasant lifestyle and the flat accent that comes with it, claiming to be an orphan. Obviously, this didn’t sit well with the family. Years later, the paths of both worlds cross when Valentin’s family suddenly stands in front of him at the opening of his new collection. When Valentin is hit by a car some time later and loses his memory of the last 25 years, things are really wrong. He no longer remembers his chic and successful Parisian existence and talks like a peasant again.

‘La ch’tite famille’ is a light French comedy by Dany Boon. A typical form of humor runs through the entire film that you as a viewer have to love. We also aim for softer and potentially heartwarming moments. Only because of the exaggerated stereotypical characters and the over the top game it is not always clear whether you should take these moments seriously. ‘La ch’tite famille’ sometimes feels like a kind of family film, but with a mature storyline. For example, dramatic music is used at moments where it does not quite match the sympathy level that you have developed for the character in question. We are not “there” yet. This means that you see what Boon is referring to as a writer and director, but you cannot always go along with it.

If you can put this aside a bit, you’re left with a fairly entertaining film. If you can ignore the fact that the structure of the characters and the relationships to each other are not always logical (for example, Valentin remains angry with his muse for a long time, who does nothing but do her best to help him suddenly forgive her for no apparent reason), ‘La ch’tite famille’ is a fine film for a relaxed feel-good evening, but not much more than that.

What has been done well is that the Dutch subtitles also show the flat northern French dialect. For example, the difference in speaking between the two worlds also comes across well in Dutch, since the untrained French ear will probably not pick this up in French.