La Colle (2017)
Directed by Alexandre Castagnetti

Film Review

La Colle is the fifth feature to be directed by Alexandre Castagnetti, an amiable teen comedy that makes the most of its 'stolen' premise from Harold Ramis's classic Groundhog Day (1993).  In common with Castagnetti's earlier screen offerings - including the exuberant rom-com Amour et Turbulences (2013) and his lively comic book adaptation Tamara (2016) - the critics were pretty unkind to the film and were quick to write it off as flimsy and derivative.  La Colle may not be the most inspired or original of comedies, but it has more than a modicum of entertainment value.  The main thing in its favour is that it manages to keep up its good-natured humour from start to finish without descending into the kind of crass inanity and vulgarity that is exhibited by too many mainstream French comedies these days.

In contrast to Castagnetti's earlier films, there are no big name actors in the cast, just an ensemble of promising newcomers who make the most of the so-so material they are given.  The lead actors Arthur Mazet (previously seen in Paul Verhoeven's 2016 highly regarded film Elle) and Karidja Touré carry the film well, both highly sympathetic as the love-sick student trapped in a time-warp and the object of his teenage crush.  Where the film does fall down a little is with its coterie of secondary characters, who tend to be caricatured and prone to acting like participants in a Disney cartoon.  Fortunately, there are enough humorous situations and scripted gags to prevent the film's tenuous grip on reality from ever becoming irksome.  Providing you are not expecting it to be a comic masterpiece La Colle will not disappoint - it's a sweet little fantasy that you just can't help falling for.

Film Synopsis

Benjamin is understandably miffed when he lands himself a two-hour Saturday detention, but at least the sourness of the occasion is tempered by the fact that Leila, the girl he secretly has a crush on, is to share it with him.  Even better, she has to sit next to him as he is the only one to have brought his maths book.  It is like a dream come true when the most beautiful girl in the class sits down at the desk next to him.  To Benjamin's surprise, the exquisite meeting is replayed exactly when he comes back from the toilets and returns to his desk.

Fantastic as it may seem, the adolescent has somehow managed to get himself stuck in a time loop, his unexpected encounter with Leila being replayed over and over again every time he is away from her for more than three minutes.   It finally dawns on Benjamin how he got himself into this bizarre predicament.  The web genie Akinator has obviously granted him his wish that he and Leila should be together forever.  It seems that there is no way out of the private hell that Alex has created for himself.  It's Groundhog Day all over again...