La Maison du bonheur (2006)
Directed by Dany Boon

Film Review

There is an uncanny prescience about this seemingly inoccuous film comedy, released just one year before the global debt pyramid collapsed and made the word "banker" a socially unacceptable term of abuse.  La Maison du bonheur is far more relevant today (2009) than it was in 2006 and what may have been intended as a breezy farce is now more a black comedy with a razor-sharp satirical edge.  Although a little unevenly paced and somewhat prone to cliché, the film is an enjoyable romp that delivers plenty of laughs, highly topical with its salutary reminder of the dangers of taking on too much debt.  Maybe if a few more politicians had seen this film, we might all have been spared a great deal of pain...

The film marks an auspicious directing debut, that of Dany Boon, a popular celebrity in France, who has pursued a twin-track career as actor and singer, as famous for his one man shows and film appearances as for his crooning.  No one, not even Boon himself, could have foreseen the success his next directorial offering would achieve.  With an audience of over 20 million, Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis would be the most successful film made in France to date - a remarkable achievement for a director with just one previous film under his belt.

La Maison du bonheur originated from a 2003 stage play entitled La Vie de chantier which Dany Boon wrote and starred in.  Boon had difficulty convincing producer Claude Berri to provide the financial backing to make the film.   Berri originally turned the project down but subsequently changed his mind when he saw the play by chance and found it hilarious.   Impressed by Boon's work, Berri had no qualms about backing his next film, which turned out to be the equivalent of buying the winning ticket in the national lottery in a rollover week. Here's a director who is already proving to be a great boon for French cinema...

Film Synopsis

Within a surprisingly short time, Charles Boulin's job with a credit agency has turned him into a skinflint of almost pathological proportions.  When his wife Anne criticises his stinginess he responds by going out and buying a new house in the leafy suburbs of Paris - for the lowest price possible.  Unfortunately, his estate agent, Jean-Pierre Draquart, saw him coming and what Charles now has on his hands is a rundown old shack that is barely habitable for mice.  All is not lost, however, as Jean-Pierre conveniently knows two builders - Mouloud Mami and Donatello Pirelli - who will put the house right in next to no time, and for only a modest fee.

Charles belongs to that rare breed of men that haven't yet come to realise that estate agents, like politicians, have absolutely no understanding of the concept of truth, and so within a few days his new dream home is looking less like a family dwelling and more like a miniature war zone.  Just when things couldn't possibly get any worse, Charles loses his job and finds himself saddled with a 25 year mortgage that he cannot possibly pay off.  Unable to tell his wife and daughter the truth, he arranges to sell the family apartment without them knowing whilst taking on whatever odd jobs he can find to keep him solvent.  In this moment of crisis it's good to know that there is one man he can rely on - Jean-Pierre, the estate agent from Hell...