Bon Dieu 2 – Qu’est-ce qu’on a encore fait au bon Dieu? (2019)

Directed by: Philippe de Chauveron | 99 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Christian Clavier, Chantal Lauby, Ary Abittan, Medi Sadoun, Frédéric Chau, Noom Diawara, Frédérique Bel, Julia Piaton, Émilie Caen, Élodie Fontan, Pascal N’Zonzi, Salimata Kamate, Tatiana Rojo, Claudia Tagbo, Hedi Bouchenafa, legendre

The French film ‘Bon Dieu’ (2014) was an immense success in the home country. The film attracted more than 12 million visitors in France; that’s more than, say, ‘The Lion King’ in 1994 and ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ in 2015. It must have been very tempting for the producers not to immediately think of a sequel. But what should the approach be? In the first part, we saw how the head of the Verneuil family, Claude (Christian Clavier) had to reconcile with the choice of partner of his four daughters. All his well-behaved Catholic daughters chose well-behaved men. But no Frenchmen.

In part 2, the conservative couple Verneuil takes it one step further: they make a trip to all the countries where their sons-in-law come from. So they travel from Israel to Algeria and from Africa to China. Like it’s nothing. They are only happy when they return home, because nothing beats France for a Frenchman.

However, the sons-in-law do not agree and the daughters also begin to doubt whether their future lies in La Douce France. With this, the director/screenwriter Philippe de Chauveron (who is also responsible for part one) responds to the current mood in the country. The gentlemen are experiencing integration problems. They are still discriminated against. The promised successful existence is not forthcoming. When Claude and Marie hear that their entire progeny is leaving the country, just as they have decided never to travel again, they go on the offensive. They must prevent the daughters from coming to live within flying distance. And what better way to do that than to show how great France really is?

Apart from the fact that you have to question the deceit of the parents and the pure egoism, for which they are also rewarded, ‘Bon Dieu 2’ is not a good film. The mostly uncomfortable comedy is full of stereotypes. The humor – often racism disguised as jokes – is cringe-inducing. The characters remain flat and colorless – it is striking that after two films you still do not have the idea that you know the daughters a little. The sons-in-law get a lot more screen time, but they too remain no more than caricatures. At the end, Charles Koffi’s sister (the African son-in-law) still gets a significant share in the film – because as an African she is going to marry a woman (which naturally causes a role stroke in father Koffi). And there are even more characters in it that unnecessarily fill the film (a pastor who binged “Game of Thrones”; a Muslim gardener who is viewed with suspicion by Claude); in fact, you have the idea that they are being staged purely for one joke. ‘Bon Dieu 2’ is a repeat of moves – so if you had fun with the first movie, feel free to check this one out. However, it is hard to imagine that you will have a lot of fun with this dragon of a film.