Fais-moi plaisir! (2009)
Directed by Emmanuel Mouret

Film Review

Emmanuel Mouret is rapidly becoming France's answer to Woody Allen if his series of deliriously funny sex comedies is anything to go by.   At a time when most film comedy tends to the twin extremes of vulgarity and absurdity, Mouret's latest gag-a-thon offering Fais-moi plaisir! provides a refreshing alternative.  Here is a film that, improbable as it may seem, combines the exquisite romantic poetry of Rohmer with the effortless slapstick of Tati, with Mouret playing a character which feels like some weird hybrid of Don Juan, Antoine Doinel, Mr Bean and Inspector Clousseau - i.e. a hopeless romantic masquerading as a one-man disaster area. 

The defining characteristic of Mouret's idea of comedy is understatement.  The film starts with a simple premise, that of frustrated desire, and extrapolates it as far as possible, with each comic situation building on the one that preceded it.  Here we have the 'old woman who swallowed a fly scenario'.  Everything that the Mr Bean-like hero does not only puts him in an embarrassing situation but leads to another disaster further down the line.   It's a bit like the inept hurdler who, having tripped over one hurdle, is destined to demolish every other one on the race track.  

Let us take one example.  At a party, Mouret's newly acquired girlfriend points out to him that his flies are underdone.   To avoid drawing attention to himself, Mouret sneaks away to a quiet corner, but only succeeds in getting the curtains caught in his zip.  He then spends the next ten minutes trying to extricate himself from the curtains without anyone noticing.  The party over, Mouret finally manages to free himself, with the help of a conveniently placed broadsword, but now has an embarrassingly shaped piece of white material protruding from his zip, which he still cannot unfasten.  Mouret's subsequent attempts to amputate his improvised codpiece provide the impetus for the next half a dozen scenes, which nudge ever closer to surrealist fantasy.

What makes this so amusing is that Mouret's character is not the grotesque of the kind we associate with this kind of humour, but rather a likeable innocent (a Byronesque Fernandel), who just happens to attract bad luck as effectively as a buddleia attracts butterflies.   But Mouret does not only attract bad luck.  He also has a knack of drawing towards him pretty women who could all pass for princesses in a child's fairytale - Frédérique Bel, Déborah François and Judith Godrèche to name just three.  Mouret's misfortune is that he appears destined never to reap the harvest that fate throws at his feet.  Even when he finds himself trapped in a bedroom with a veritable harem of nubile beauties, Mouret has no opportunity of relieving his pent up desire.  Can there be a more apt metaphor for the caprices of the male libido than a stuck trouser zip?

Fais-moi plaisir! is a real treat for any connoisseur of French comedy, but it will appeal equally to anyone who enjoys slapstick and the kind of humour that relies more on wit than cheap vulgarity.  Emmanuel Mouret's films are a pleasing echo of the classic comedies of the French New Wave, elegantly crafted and intelligently scripted, effortlessly funny, but with a soupçon of poignant irony.  Long may Mouret continue to amuse and delight us with his enchanting brand of romantic comedy.

Film Synopsis

Convinced that her partner, Jean-Jacques, is showing an interest in another woman, Ariane coerces him into having an affair with her, believing that this is the best way to save their relationship.   Jean-Jacques agrees to start seeing the woman in question, whom he hardly knows, not realising that she is in fact the daughter of the President...