La soupe aux choux (1981)

Directed by: Jean Girault | 98 minutes | comedy, science fiction | Actors: Louis de Funès, Jean Carmet, Jacques Villeret, Claude Gensac, Henri Génès, Marco Perrin, Christine Dejoux, Gaëlle Legrand, Catherine Ohotnikoff, Philippe Ruggieri, Max Montavon, Thierry Liagre, Perrette Souplex, Carole Nugue, Jean-Pierre Rambal

‘La soupe aux choux’, an adaptation of a novel by Jean Girault, seems to be a French comedy classic, but anyone who falls soberly into it and is not very familiar with the work of De Funès will probably find themselves well behind the scenes a few times. scratching ears. What the hell is this film’s main attraction? There may be one funny comment in the first ten minutes, but otherwise it’s okay with the two dull old men, who drink too much wine and constantly argue with each other. And if on a beautiful starry night they also have a crackling fart contest, which a moment later an alien clocking like a turkey comes up with his papier-mâché spaceship, you can forgive the viewer if he puts his hands in the air and shakes the room. leaves. What kind of scrapped, third-rate craft project is this?

But then something crazy happens. When the waddling, alien idiot (Jacques Villeret) continues to communicate with Claude (de Funès) in his turkey language and Claude himself enthusiastically clocks back while they are stirring the cabbage soup, the sounds suddenly start to make you laugh. The alien turns out to be very dryly comical and the idea that he finds Claude’s cabbage soup so delicious that he takes thermos flasks with him to his own planet is also charming, and typically French. The old-fashioned science-fiction angle also provides a funny pulpy atmosphere. Up close, the spaceship isn’t even that inexpertly assembled. The scenes in which the thing flies away may be incredibly cheap, but that doesn’t matter much in a crazy low-budget film like this one. Quite the contrary. Thinking back, then, farting may not even be that substandard or offensive. Why is it hilarious when it happens in “South Park” (by Cartman or Terrance & Philip) but falls under bad taste here? It is in any case just as exuberant and over the top, and must clearly vouch for the thunder, as lightning always follows immediately. That’s pretty funny isn’t it? Maybe you should be in the mood for it.

All this excuse does not alter the fact that the film contains many boring and unpleasant scenes and that De Funès is not always very funny with his exaggerated body language and irascible behaviour. In addition, some comically intended moments could have used a dramatic angle (the suicide attempt of Claude’s best friend Francis [Jean Carmet] is a good example of this), and vice versa (a long, dramatic episode about the return of Claude’s (young!) wife hardly adds anything and could have been exploited more comically).

Still, ‘La soupe aux choux’ isn’t a disastrous movie experience in the end and there’s a good chance that the viewer will even feel something of an emotional connection with these two endearing old men and really allow them to enjoy their old age peacefully and happily, with their wines, their cabbage soup, and the respect they deserve.