Tanguy

Genre: comedy
Director: Étienne Chatiliez
Release: 2001
Studio: TF1 International et al.
Rating: -
MBiS score: 6.4/10


It’s French, vaguely Chinese but mostly all over the map


Tanguy Guetz leads a busy and carefree life teaching Chinese, counselling French government officials and meeting interesting people. But this twentysomething still lives at home and, in the eyes of some relatives at least, such an arrangement has become annoying if not obscene.

Assuredly, there is a lot to like about TANGUY, a colourful comedy, frenetically paced and genuinely entertaining… for the first half. The premise is promising enough and the cast makes the most of it. Everyone here plays with panache and excellent timing, especially Sabine Azéma, as Tanguy’s insecure mother, whose facial expression reminded me of Isabelle Huppert’s. I also adored Hélène Duc, so delightful as Tanguy’s tough-minded grandmother. Another plus: the movie is gorgeous to look at, with beautiful views of Paris streets, attractive sets and smart costumes.

Unfortunately, as you may have already guessed, there are minuses too in TANGUY. The story itself lacks stamina and staggers painfully in the second half, relying on silly, simplistic or implausible twists to reach the finish line. For one thing, the parents’ motivations are abominably botched, waffling wildly as we go along, defying logic and the viewer’s intelligence. Some facts remain unexplained or are taped together precariously and, in my humble opinion, the ending feels rushed, as if it came out of nowhere. Too bad for Sabine and company, whose effort should have been supported by a better script.

My advice? Pass up on this one, my friends. You can easily find better movies to watch than this high-concept trifle made in France but as indigestible as many American pseudo-comedies. On a scale from 1 to 10, it only deserves a 6. Sorry. Feel free to disagree.


MBiS

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