Pouic-Pouic (1963)
Directed by Jean Girault

Film Review

Having made over a hundred film appearances in nearly twenty years, the comic actor Louis de Funès finally achieved top billing in Pouic-Pouic, the film that turned him into an overnight comic sensation.  Throughout the following two decades he would become the most popular comedian in France, a charismatic cult figure whose popularity would endure long after his death in 1983.

Pouic-Pouic is a typical burlesque comedy, (rather obviously) adapted from a stage play.  De Funès plays an irascible bourgeois middle-aged man who is infinitely more interested in money and status than personal relationships - one of the characters he would perfect over the rest of his career in numerous films.  Far from being a simple caricature, de Funès' portrayal of such odious characters is intensely complex and well developed, showing the actor's remarkable talent for observation and imitation, to say nothing of his obsessive perfectionism.  De Funès was as much a first rate character actor as he was a natural born comedian, and this is what brings the essential quality of truth to his performances.

Pouic-Pouic mark the first episode in a long and fruitful collaboration between de Funès and director Jean Girault. The two men would work together on a further 11 films, including the hugely popular Gendarme series.  Working magnificently alongside de Funès in this film is the redoubtable Jacqueline Maillan, another highly regarded comic performer with a larger-than-life personality, playing the first (and arguably the best) of de Funès' on-screen wives.  The film also features the stunningly beautiful Mireille Darc in one of her first major film roles.

Whilst the film suffers a little from some uninspired direction and a few predictable plot developments, the quality of the comic performances make it an entertaining piece of farce, in the best tradition of French burlesque comedy.   The jokes - both visual and spoken - fall thick and fast and it is often a challenge to keep up with all of the film's twists and turns.  Whilst the plot is torturously complex, it is all good fun, and it is little wonder that the film proved to be a popular success on its release in 1963.

Film Synopsis

Léonard Monestier is a canny businessman who owes his success to his unerring ability to spot a sound investment.  His wife Cynthia, alas, has no such talent and seems determined to bankrupt them both by splashing out on dodgy shares.  Why couldn't Cynthia stick to her other, less financially damaging, interests in life, such as tending to her pet bird Pouic-Pouic?  Convinced that his wife's investment in a South American oil concession is sheer folly, Monestier decides he has to offload it onto someone else - but who?  He has the perfect victim in Antoine Brévin, a man who is both gullible and rich - and he has hopes of marrying Monestier's daughter, Patricia.

Unfortunately, Patricia has a mind of her own and no part of it is inclined to even consider marrying Antoine.  So determined is she to drive away her unwanted 40-something suitor that she resorts to hiring a delivery man, Simon Guilbaud, to pass himself off as her husband.  Monestier is naturally unaware of this development and invites the unwitting Antoine to his house so that he can sell him the troublesome shares.  Fearing that the millionaire will see through his scheme, Monestier coerces Simon into posing as his son Paul, who is away in South America at the moment.  Things are looking good for the unscrupulous businessman - until his son shows up unexpectedly, in the company of a gorgeous South American girl named Palma.  If Monestier is to succeed, he must resort to increasingly desperate measures to rid himself of his wife's dodgy investment...