On l'appelle catastrophe (1983)
Directed by Richard Balducci

Film Review

This lowbrow family comedy would have greater appeal were it not for its frequent bouts of inane silliness.  Michel Leeb may not have the charisma of Jean-Paul Belmondo but he appears to be well-suited for this kind of strip-cartoon-style farce (if you overlook the embarrassing doggy impressions).  Most of the jokes backfire but there are a few moments of inspired comedy, although it has to be said that some of the humour is, by today's standards, horribly politically incorrect (if not downright racist).

Film Synopsis

Antoine Malibran, a humble cinema projectionist, is patiently waiting for his girlfriend Carole outside the bank where she works when he is unwittingly caught up in a bank robbery.  The next thing he knows he has been arrested and he is soon sharing a prison cell with the feared hoodlum Freddo la Terreur.  Little does Antoine know that his adventures are only just beginning.  Whilst washing the prison governor's car, he falls asleep on the back seat and when he wakes up he finds that he is miles away from the prison.  It is a stroke of good fortune that goes somewhat amiss.  Such is Antoine's respect for the law that he feels compelled to return to the prison.  This comes as much of a surprise to the wardens as it does to his fellow inmates.  The latter see this as some kind of ingenious ruse, and even Freddo feels he must accept Antoine as a superior kind of criminal.

Not long afterwards, Antoine manages to escape from the prison a second time, taking advantage of an escape plan hatched for another prisoner.  Against his will, he finds himself in Marseille with a suitcase stuffed with banknotes.  The improbable series of mad escapades continues, with Antoine landing in an African country that is presently in the grip of a coup état.  Not content with being a presidential aide, he heads back to France and, by another stroke of good fortune, succeeds in disarming a dangerous terrorist.  Antoine's hopes of resuming a peaceful life in France are shattered when he discovers what his girlfriend has been up to during his absence...